Seal of Metatron
by Marasaki
Summary: Sequel to Silence of Witches. Gai has returned to the normal world but there's something not quite right about him. Kakashi does all he can to help him, but a religious cult from Silent Hill has other plans. Rating will vary due to violence and cruelty.
1. Prologue

**Note: This is the sequel to the story Silence of Witches. I recommend you read Silence of Witches before reading this story if you haven't already. Thank you and enjoy.**

* * *

Prologue

It must have been at least a month before he woke up. By that time, I had almost given up hope of him ever coming out of his coma. The notable eyebrows lay upon his face, burnt and matted, unmoving. The only movement of him was the gentle rise and fall of his chest as the mechanical ventilator breathed for him. He was burnt from head to toe, the damage to his hair being so excessive that most of it had to be removed. His body was covered in skin grafts hidden by bandages that needed to be changed from time to time, the only parts of his body exposed to the open air being parts of his face, fingertips and toes, each of which red and whitened with dead skin.

The first bandage job of his body was messy and uneven due to the frenzy of frantic nurses struggling to stabilize and keep him that way when I brought him in from his home. I was lucky to have found him when I did. Despite the adrenaline rush of gathering him up and running him to the hospital, I couldn't get over what I saw when I found him. He was in a lifeless crumpled heap on the floor of his living room, his skin glistening and charred an oily black. He was trembling, violent shockwaves racking his body as he breathed cold, shuddering breaths. His eyes seemed to have been glued shut and his clothes were torn and melted to his skin.

The searing heat that emanated from his body was intense. I seized him in automatic response before realizing what exactly was happening. My response was numbed with an inner feeling of doom from that minute on. My rush was senseless, my own sudden outburst from fiery pain engulfing my hands as I picked him up going unnoticed until realization hit when our destination was reached. Once we arrived, he was taken off for intensive care. My hands were looked at and resulted in receiving immediate medical treatment.

Once I was treated and bandaged, I dragged myself to the waiting room and sat myself down, going over all that had just happened. It wasn't the first time I've felt helpless, but this time it was accompanied by a sense of fear, hopelessness and depression. Although these feelings for another human being were not to be felt by any ninja, I could do nothing to repress them. I could do nothing to keep myself from being swallowed by these feelings of sorrow and worry. I could do nothing to help him. Lying to myself about the whole situation didn't help either.

Gai was in the Intensive Care Unit, blackened skin being peeled from his body so that skin grafts were possible. There was no doubt that his burns were of the fourth degree, if it was possible, and ultimately fatal. The only thing that I could do from that point on was sit and wait in the waiting room and allow my subconscious to come up with reasons why it was my fault he was this way. I didn't watch close enough. I wasn't there for him. I didn't care enough for him. I wasn't strong enough. I let this happen. I set him on fire and didn't know it. He did this to himself and I didn't stop him.

Before I knew it I was hyperventilating, a dull feeling of nausea slowly birthing itself in the pit of my stomach. I had to stop myself from thinking these things; just stop thinking. He'll make it; he's strong. He's stronger than most people I know. He has a will to live. He had a will to live and lost it, but he got it back, right? Right…?

Gai was stable finally, after about three to five hours, which felt like an eternity, later. I was exhausted and tried to get myself to leave but could not. I visited, not caring whether or not I was allowed. I stood still in the doorway of his room, staring blankly at the figure that laid before me. He was faceless, covered head to toe in dirty bandages, his eyes thickly bandaged with layers and layers of gauze and he was gagged by a breathing tube going down his throat, held in place by medical tape. It all seemed so cruel to me.

His chest didn't rise and I began to panic, searching around the room and the ventilator machine frantically. Out of the corner of my eye, his chest gently, ever so slightly rose and fell once more. I stopped and looked down at him, frowning tiredly, sadly. He seemed so stiff and in the highest level of discomfort, no trace of relaxation found in his entire being. He was like the pale man, blind and oblivious to all around him, yet somehow aware and in extreme discontent of it all.

I sat down next to him, afraid to touch him, for fear of either setting off some sort of trap or dealing any more damage to him than what was already done. I frowned deeply as I examined him further. His chakra level was absolute zero. Slowly, I reached over a gloved hand, carefully resting it over Gai's head, lightly stroking what little patches of hair he had left that poked out through the bandages. It seemed to comfort me than anything else, considering Gai was probably so deep in his coma that my touch was just as absent as he himself was. "You're going to be fine," I said, "You're going to be…just fine." He was a jounin of the Hidden Leaf Village. Of course he'll be fine.

As thirty-one days and thirty-one nights passed, I worried ever more so for him than I probably should have. My most immediate concern was his sweat glands. Were they destroyed from the burns? If they were, would he be able to continue being a ninja? This was another concern of mine. And his eyes? Was he going to be blind? If he was, would it be permanent or temporary? And finally as time went on, I wondered if he was even going to wake up at all.

My question was answered and the answer was confirmed one warm gentle morning. Gai had been taken off of the brutal breathing tracheal tube and had been put under the feather light comfort of small nose tubes. The gauze on his eyes had been removed, his eyelids being swollen and scarred. Much to the surprise of the nurses, he didn't wake up screaming from awful pain. Although I was unconscious to see it, his awakening was a quiet, relaxing one. I woke up moments later after he did to him smiling weakly at me.

If physical contact didn't subject Gai to severe pain, I probably would have hugged him. At that point, I was too exhausted to keep my eyes open for very long. Asuma and Kurenai, who had accompanied me to Gai's room, were asleep also. I scooted closer to Gai before resting my head down once more, my hand resting gently over his.

A year had passed since that miraculous day and Gai was healthier than anyone could have anticipated. If anything, we were almost expecting him to be a bit weaker from the ordeal. On the contrary, he was stronger, faster and more unpredictable, which made training with him surprisingly more difficult. He always had this eager grin on his face, his hair and eyebrows had completely grown back and were in good health once more.

His skin regained color and he regained his weight back in muscle mass. Tsunade-sama performed a special healing jutsu on his body that restored his sweat glands and healed his eyes back to perfect health. He trained more with Neji and Tenten, and they couldn't have been happier to see him doing better than he had been. Needless to say, all was well again.

Despite the time jump between past and present, I was still disturbed and distraught over what I had seen. The more I thought about it and went over it analytically, the more terrifying it became. It seemed like more of a nightmare than reality, and no matter how much I wished to speak with Gai about it, I simply couldn't get myself to, for fear of arousing memories that he'd rather forget.

From then on, Gai had this strange aura about him, at least to me he did. His chakra was a different color as well, which disturbed me. Rather than being its normal blue color, his chakra was a darker grayish brown. It startled me; I haven't seen any chakra take on such a color before.

Physically and seemingly mentally, Gai was, indeed, doing better. The only noticeable difference was his voice. It had that same booming attitude, but the tone was softer and not as heavy as it used to be. It's as if something inside of Gai was removed and replaced by something that shouldn't have been there. Sometimes he wasn't able to speak above a whisper, mainly when he woke up or is about to fall asleep or pass out from training. His voice was softer, calmer and more relaxed than it used to be. It was a nice change. For a while at least.

Things began to go downhill very slowly. Gai began to have bad stomach aches, large, sharp, stabbing pains, he says. They began to get worse over time but less frequent as well. He told me not to worry about it and promised me he would be fine, with that same old 'nice guy' pose. I did my best to follow his heed, but deep down inside, I could feel that something wasn't quite right…

* * *

**Note: The pale man refers to the character 'the pale man' from the Spanish movie Pan's Labyrinth.**


	2. Precognition

**WARNING: Some scenes in this chapter may appear to be disturbing, cruel, or offensive. **

* * *

**Chapter 1**  
_Precognition_

* * *

The air around him was precarious and held an omen within it. The silence that accompanied the thickness of the foggy atmosphere in which he was trapped filled him with a sense of urgency in his unconscious state. He struggled and mentally kicked like a cramped infant, bringing himself out of his sleep after several minutes and gently easing himself into a sitting position His navy blue mask was absent, seeming to have been ripped and shredded from his face rather than simply pulled down. His hitai-ate was missing too, his sharingan eye peering through the heavy white blankets of fog as he struggled to regain his rational concept of thought. 

He stayed seated as he looked around him, dazed and confused. His head throbbed, pain pulsing through his skull and ultimately beckoning a gloved hand to lightly run through limp silver hair. His blurred vision began to clear after several minutes of blinking his eyes every few seconds. The surface upon which he was seated was rough, cold and concrete, marked consistently down the middle with white dotted lines, the paint of each twelve inch-long block faded and chipped away due to age and abuse.

Once he gained his composure, he slowly stood, feeling weak a bit in the legs but stable nonetheless. _Where is this place…_ He looked around, spotting a few vehicles parked along the concrete road, old fashioned cars that were dirty, old and decrepit. Through the thinning fog were buildings, industrious and old-fashioned, lined up like soldiers awaiting command from their superiors. The windows were either cracked and broken or boarded up with old wooden planks. _Wherever it is, it isn't home…How…how did I end up here…?_ He walked, taking slow careful steps, his legs wobbly at first. The fog began to clear out some as he moved down the street at a faster pace, but not so that it significantly improved how far his eyes could see.

The roads ahead of him were smeared in portions with scarlet, a color that put him in a state of alarm. _Blood…!? _ He stopped by a rather large smudge and kneeled next to it, examining it whilst sparing a few glances here and there at other similar streaks scattered across the concrete. _It looks like someone was dragged… But only for short distances at a time…These patterns are sporadic; it's hard to tell…It doesn't make sense…_ He stood, perking his head up to a cloud of sounds, sounds that relieved him despite their strangeness in nature. It was a heavy breathing sound, merged with a tiny moan or two.

He slowly backed away from the source of the sound, his eyes darting about him for some sort of perch upon which he could safely station himself. He found none that he could see offhand and bit down on his lower lip, reaching for a kunai in his back pocket and whipping it out, readying himself in case of an attack. He stood his ground, gritting his teeth as the sounds got louder, pitch varying sporadically and taking away its human element.

It slinked along the ground, pushed forward by a pair of stubby legs, its body elongated and wrapped together in skin that resembled latex, sliding over what visibly lay inside like an egg sac as it crept along the concrete. It's head twitched violently as it scooted itself across the floor, its armless torso following its head in a snakelike fashion. _What… what is this thing…? Is it… is it human…? _He stood perfectly still like a statue, frozen in time as the creature before him lurched and bent, crouching on its back legs and hauling its upper body and balancing with a poetic uneasiness, swaying hypnotically as it began to walk slowly towards him, staggering with such an element that made it seem more exotic than monstrous.

It seemed to have been human in silhouette, but organs and limbs that should be there were replaced by features that should not be there. Its chest was fitted with a hole, a slit, rather, dripping with a dark blue fluid, which presented itself to be acidic as it dripped from the thing's body and onto the concrete, burning through the material and emanating a whitely smoke. It's head was twisted and held down close to what would have been its collarbone, a cord-like organ hidden under the skin seeming to bind the chin to the Adams apple.

"What…" he stared, his mouth hanging open. _ What are you…? _ "What are you…?" he uttered, watching as it staggered towards him, "You're not human…You can't be…You shouldn't be…" The thing stopped, bending over and trembling, acid spitting from its chest and splashing over the ground before it reared, arching its back and screaming, a bloodcurdling howl that resembled that of a tortured man reaching his limit.

_It's human._

As if upon reflex, he shrieked, fear engulfing first his heart, lungs, then his entire upper torso, forcing him to sprint past the sickly creature that finished its screech with a painful gurgle and lowered itself back towards the ground. His short dashing sprint quickly changed into a flat-out frantic run, the medium pitched scream ringing harshly in the distance. Oblivious to all that was around him, he fled down the road, not wasting his time with turns and twists that he would otherwise strategically use to lose a pursuer.

He didn't stop, blind to a stop sign blanketed in dust, a sign that ultimately stopped him violently in his tracks and left him with a large cut on his face and a slight concussion. He laid there on his back, staring up at the sky with blank, unseeing eyes. A small stream of blood trickled down the side of his face and onto the ground, staining the colorless concrete and disturbing the still silence.

_We will bring God back into the world! We shall birth Her anew and She will build us a new Paradise! Long live our God until once again our tainted world will long for cleansing! The world must be wiped clean of all filth for the coming of God!_

"…The coming of God…"

_Only then will we be saved! We, my brothers and sisters, shall be saved! God will save us and only us! All nonbelievers shall drink their own blood straight from God's hands! We are knights of honor, my brethren! We are protectors of the seal!_

"Protectors…of the seal…"

_We must ensure the birth of our God! We shall burn all Christians if we must to make it happen!_

_"Yes! Kill them! Kill the devils!"_

_"Burn them! They're witches!"_

_"Christians! Christians! Burn them! Burn them!"_

_"May God clean them from our wonderful world!"_

_"The Red Devil will take them! Let the Dark One take them!"_

_"All nonbelievers must be stripped of their evil skin and burned alive!"_

"Burned…alive…"

Kakashi-sensei!

"Fire…Everywhere…"

Kakashi-sensei?

"…It's burning…"

Kakashi-sensei…!

"Someone…kill me…"

Kakashi!

"Gai…?"

Kakashi!

He sprung up from his bead, screaming like a wild man, his eyes wide and his sharingan straining. His mouth remained open, gaping and howling loudly to the ceiling, tilted back with his nose in the air, his silver hair matted to his skin with sweat. He grabbed onto the thin blankets that once covered his body, holding them up over his naked chest, his screaming slowly quieting as the intense flaming sensation of fear melted from his heart. It was replaced with another feeling, a feeling he knew all too well but refused to let it show in the public.

His heart raced as his eyes darted around, his mouth still gaping open and breathing hard quick breaths. Beads of sweat formed on his forehead and streaked down his face, curving around his wide, unblinking eyes. His voice was merged with his breaths, making them sound like tiny exhausted sobs. Once his heart had calmed some, he leapt from his bed, his foot catching the small cord of his lamp and pulling the furnishing from its mahogany perch at his bedside to the ground, cracking its ceramic base. He raced to his bathroom, flicking on the light, causing his eyes to tightly shut in response to the sudden brightness in the middle of the night.

He yelped in frustration and pain from the light rays hitting his retinas. He stood in front of his mirror, holding his hands up to his eyes, rubbing them harshly, gradually opening them as they became used to the brightness. He looked frantically in the mirror, running his hand over his face, finding that the cut from before was absent.

"Dream…" he moaned quickly, feeling burning tears well up in his tired eyes, "…was a dream…" His hands roamed quickly over his body, feeling his skin, checking himself for any other wounds he might have sustained. He remembered smelling his own fear, and fire…torturously scolding flames…burning his skin…

By the time he realized he was completely unscathed, he was hyperventilating. He shoved his hand over his mouth and his other over his eyes, feeling dizzy and nauseous. _It was just a dream. Everything is okay. Everything…is okay. _Making his way back out of the restroom, not bothering to turn of the light, he clumsily threw himself back on the bed, burying his face into his pillow, his breathing calming and becoming regular once more. He laid there, holding his pillow against his face, debating whether or not it was safe to go back to sleep.

He rubbed his face against the fabric, wiping the stray tears from his face before sitting up and looking to his window. Standing, he crept towards it, separating two bands of the blinds with his fingers and looking outside. It was just before sunrise; perhaps around four o'clock in the morning. May as well get up while the time is right. An extra long visit to the Hero's Memorial will take his mind off his perpetually repetitive nightmare.

The morning was slow and sluggish and the sun's rays were cold. He stood motionless in the shower until the water changed from a comfortable warm temperature to as cold as it could get. His eyes were narrowed sadly, staring down at the floor of the tub, watching water flow into and down the drain directly below the showerhead. _The coming…of God… I don't understand…Burn Christians…? Why…? What's the point of religious warfare…? The heat…all over me…I can still feel it…It's not as bad as it was when I was dreaming…But it's still there…The memory…it's too brutal to forget…_

He shivered, quickly bringing his hands up to run through his silver hair, "Get it together now…It was just a dream…" He lowered his head, closing his eyes briefly before cracking them open. _But it didn't feel like a dream…_ "It was a dream." _No, it wasn't… _"Yes it was." _No, it couldn't have been…_ "Shut up!"

He flinched, letting water drizzle over his hair and down his face, "If it happens again I'll talk to Tsunade-sama about it…" He sighed deeply before stepping out of the shower and wrapping himself up in towels, drying his hair off messily and proceeding to brush his teeth. He stared into the nothingness of his mirror as he brushed, his line of sight being gradually drawn to his eyes, to the dark discoloration underneath them due to insomnia.

_The kids are going to nag me about this all day today…Especially Sakura… 'What's wrong, Kakashi-sensei? You look beat!' Bah…_

Once he was completely dry, he retreated to the warm darkness of his room, slipping into his underwear and sliding on a light blue shirt, dark green shorts and his blue sandals. He would change into his more formal ninja outfit when time to train with his team drew nearer. He searched over his clothes drawer, looking for one of his masks. He grabbed one and slipped it easily over his head and fit it comfortably about his neck and face.

He turned to exit his room, a deafening silence that emanated from the walls catching him off guard. He took to the hallways that lead to the living room that presented to him the exit from his home. He hurried, scared off by the thick silence that seemed to have been choking him. He slammed the door behind him after exiting, pressing his back against the door. _I'm just letting it get to me…That town…What was it…?_

The start of his journey down the road towards the Hero's Memorial was a slow one. His eyes wandered over the tan concrete before darting up to be met by a cloud of thick fog. _What…? _ He stopped quickly, alarmed and filled with a sudden terror, _What is this…? Fog…? _He tensed up, reluctant to move forward. He remembered he forgot his hitai-ate at home but ignored the nagging voice in the back of his head begging him to run back and grab it.

Taking a deep breath, he proceeded down the road, moving at a quick pace, thinking of and taking any and all shortcuts that he knew of to get to the Hero's Memorial. There were no signs of the creature he had encountered in his dream, which relieved him somewhat as he continued down the road. He heaved a relaxing sigh as he approached the memorial, then froze. Spotting a dark stubby figure swaying slightly in front of it. Its body was blanketed over slightly by fog, which gave it a ghastly appearance.

He cursed himself, having also left his ninja tools and items back at his home. It twitched and rustled against the grass before moving, becoming taller with a low grunt. It turned to face him and he stood there still, his face pale and eyes wide.

_Death to all who turn their backs on God! _

"Kakashi?"

Kakashi yelped at the sound of his own name, of the voice that came from the thing before him. It stepped out of the shadowy fog that covered it. He blinked his eyes, struggling to calm himself as he came to recognize the figure, "…Gai?" The man before him smiled widely but tiredly, "That's my name." Kakashi began to relax as he looked Gai over. He wasn't in his normal green jumpsuit, red hitai-ate and vest, but a white tank top underneath a green silk button shirt and dark blue jeans. Kakashi seemed calmer now, but had an aura of stress Gai couldn't ignore. "Something bothering you, my rival? You look like you've seen a ghost!"

_That isn't funny…_ "Well, if you look at it at the right angle, I'm looking at one, right now," he replied, "What are you doing here? At the Memorial?" Gai grinned sadly to the response but was taken aback by the question, "Er-" He looked back at the large memorial statue, "I'm just visiting." Kakashi folded his arms across his chest, "Visiting who?" Gai turned to this question, his voice softening as he spoke, "Two very important people."

Kakashi's hard expression softened slightly, "Who?" Gai tensed to the question, then relaxed, sighing softly and gently laughing, "Heh, I'd rather not talk about it, if that's fine with you, Kakashi." Kakashi blinked. There indeed was a subject that Gai would rather drop than ramble on and on and on about. Although he could be mean to the other man and push it upon him, he decided that it indeed was a very sensitive subject for the green beast and let it go, "I see."

Kakashi took a step up and stood next to Gai, looking at the statue. Several moments of silence passed before Gai broke the stillness in the air, "So what brings you here so early in the morning, Kakashi?" Kakashi stayed silent for a while, debating whether or not to tell Gai about the nightmare that had been disturbing his sleep for at least a week now. He didn't want Gai to worry over him because of a dream that scared him awake every morning and made it impossible to sleep afterwards, nor did he want to betray his friend's trust.

He closed his eyes, "It's hard to explain…" Gai jumped slightly and turned to him, "What do you mean?" Kakashi rose his head and spoke very softly, "Gai…I think something is wrong with me…" Gai cocked his head a little and laughed softly after taking a moment to register all that Kakashi had said, "Something's wrong with you? What! Are you turning into me? Very funny, Kakashi. I've heard worse from academy students!" Kakashi shivered before speaking again, more urgency in his voice, "I'm being serious Gai…I keep having this nightmare…I've been having it for a week or so…It's the same thing over and over again and I can't sleep because of it…"

Gai's laugh quieted and he studied Kakashi's face. Kakashi looked back at him and blinked. Gai looked just as tired as he was, sleepless eyes struggling to stay focus in the early morning. The green beast gave an exhausted sigh, "Seems like everyone's having nightmare's lately." Kakashi narrowed his eyes, "You too?" Gai nodded slowly, "Yes, but probably not as terrible as yours…I'd rather not discuss it…"

Kakashi looked away as Gai looked away from him, "I see."

_Liar…If you can't talk about it then it's more than likely worse than mine…_

"Hey! While we're here, how about a sparring match, my rival?"

Kakashi looked at him, blinking, "Why? It's very early and neither of us are equipped. Plus we're both…exhausted…" Gai smiled, "It evens us out! You're weakened, I'm weakened, what would be the difference if we were both at one-hundred percent?" Kakashi narrowed his eyes, "The difference is that both of us would be at our full potential at one-hundred percent."

Gai blinked, seeming to not have quite registered what Kakashi said to him, "Ehh… Come on, just this once! Think of it as…" Gai stopped to think, looking down at the ground as he searched for the right words to it, "Um…Emergency training! We might get caught on a mission in our current states and may have to fight off an opponent! Come on, what do you say?"

Kakashi cursed under his breath. _Dingus has a point…sort of… _"Fine."

Gai grinned, leaping back from Kakashi and getting into a sloppy stance. Kakashi leapt back and did the same. The morning progressed and the sun began to rise, the rush from waking up so early in the morning taking its toll on both of them and draining their energy. Gai sprung forward, "Here I come!" Kakashi shook his head, "What…?" The green beast's sandaled foot swung forward in a kick as Gai jumped, locking against Kakashi's guarding arm. "I didn't even see that one coming…" Kakashi groaned.

Gai chuckled, pushing back from Kakashi and staggering a bit, trying to keep his balance, "Whoa now…" Kakashi lowered his guard, "I think we should call it quits, both of us are exhausted and its getting worse with the coming of dawn, Gai…" Gai was bent over, his hands holding over his stomach, "Yeah… you're…right…" Kakashi blinked, studying the other man that was now currently doubled over yet still on his feet. "Gai…? Are you alright…?" Kakashi slowly approached him.

Gai struggled to speak, his face creased with pain and his eyes tightly shut. His first words were implied to be, 'Yes, I'm fine,' but were then changed to, "No…I'm not…alright…Stomach…hurts….!" He reared his torso back, letting out a painful scream before doubling over and curling up into a fetal position, holding his stomach with his arms, his joints locked in position.

"Gai!" Kakashi exclaimed, racing to his trembling side, "Argh…!" In a clumsy sweeping motion, Kakashi hoisted Gai over his shoulder, "This is just too much…Tsunade needs to do something about this…" With Gai held securely on his back, Kakashi took to the trees towards the hospital.

* * *

**End of Chapter 1**

* * *


	3. One's Own

**Chapter 2**  
_One's Own  
_

* * *

Neji shot glares in all directions, his eyes straining with the Byakugan, "I don't see him anywhere." Tenten sighed, sitting down next to the Hyuga, flipping a kunai in her hand, "Where could he be? He's never late. Heck, he taught Lee not to be late!" She rolled her dark brown eyes and looked around. Neji lowered his head and deactivated his Byakugan, heaving a little sigh before simply resting his back against the trunk of the tree in front of which he sat. 

Tenten relaxed with him, looking down at the ground with a more content look on her face. It was easier for both of them to talk about Lee in his eternal absence. They'd honor his memory not matter what other words accompanied his name in each and every sentence in which it was spoken or written. They somehow knew that he was proud of them for moving on, and it gave them a sense of peace, even happiness.

Tenten sometimes even caught Neji looking up at the clouds, as if staring off into the heavens and finding Lee on a cloud watching them with an eager grin on his face. A smile crossed his lips before he had lowered his head down to unexpectedly meet her gaze and hide the smile behind an irritable expression. She knew that Neji missed the other boy secretly but respected his decision to keep this factor hidden and pretended not to notice his staring off into space.

"We may as well relax until he gets here. It is pretty early. It might even be a bit too early for Gai-sensei," Tenten mused aloud. Neji closed his eyes, silently agreeing to the relaxing part, "Gai set the time for the training meeting though. One would think he would have foreseen this. But then again, maybe he wasn't expecting to be very tired this early."

Tenten nodded, "That's a possibility." Silence passed through them as they patiently waited. They took turns taking five minute naps, one resting while the other watched out for enemies or for their teacher. It wasn't before long before Tenten had fallen deeper into her brief slumber and Neji, groggily assuming that Tenten would wake up soon, rest his head back for sleep, "I hope he…gets here soon…" In response, Tenten let out a little moan.

An hour passed before a loud screeching voice echoed through the trees in which Neji and Tenten were stationed. It was obnoxious and unmistakably recognizable as Naruto's, startling them from their sleep and causing them to jump straight to their feet once they registered the sense of urgency in the other boy's voice. He had been leaping from tree to tree looking for them, and now dropped before them, panting. Tenten seemed bewildered while Neji was annoyed, "What is it, Naruto?"

"Kakashi-sensei sent me to get you guys! Come on! It's serious! Hurry up and follow me!" he exclaimed, the look on his face filling the other two genin with a feeling of doom. Tenten gasped loudly once Naruto bolted off back from where he came, "Where's Gai-sensei!? How long have we been asleep!?" Neji took off after Naruto, followed by Tenten, who was now ranting into the air, "I can't believe we fell asleep!"

Once the two caught up with the orange clad boy, Neji began to inquire, "What's going on, Naruto?" Naruto stayed eerily silent for a moment, "Kakashi didn't say specifically, but I think it has something to do with Gai-sensei!" Neji blinked, "What? What is it this time?" Naruto shook his head, "I don't know! He's in the hospital!" Tenten almost shrieked, "What!? He's in the hospital!?"

"Yeah, now come on!" Naruto looked back at them before quickening his pace towards the hospital. Tenten bit down hard on her bottom lip, "You don't think he's ill again, do you…? Neji…?" Neji stayed silent. His thoughts raced just as his heart rate. His skin was whitely pale and clammy and his eyes were wide with shock.

* * *

_I'm sorry…_

_"…?"_

_I can't stop this…_

_"…What…? Who are you…?"_

_They're after you now…_

_"What…? Who are 'they'…?"_

_You'll have to fight them by yourself this time…_

_"Who's 'them'?"_

_Forgive me…I just wanted to help you…_

_"Wait!"_

"Shizune, did you stabilize him?"

"Yes, Lady Tsunade."

"Good, yes. He should be fine now, hopefully."

_"Shizune? Tsunade-sama? …What's going on here? Hey!"_

"I'll inform Kakashi of his condition. Stay here with him."

"Yes, Lady Tsunade."

_"Kakashi…? Wait! Hey! Argh…"_

Gai's eyes twitched slightly as he struggled to awaken. His muscles were completely lax and a breathing mask was strapped over his face. Although he seemed sound asleep, he was ragingly awake, kept down by relaxants and drugs. It was a wonder to him how his mind still worked or how he could shape voices and sounds into words and register them with clarity. He heard Shizune sigh softly, her voice shaky and quivered. She was walking around the room in which they resided, closing up cabinets and putting unused surgical tools away.

Once she was at his side, she studied him. He was laying still on his back, his head slightly tilted to one side with his hospital gown, having been untied in the back, pulled down to expose his stomach and chest to the ceiling. She frowned sadly and sat down on a stool at his bedside. Gently, she lowered her head against his belly, pressing her ear against his skin.

"How is this possible…?" she whispered as she rose her head from his ribs. Standing, she pulled up his gown and slid his limp arms through the sleeves before pulling up thick white blankets. She smoothed out the fabric, watching him, eyeing his eyelids as they twitched with groggy effort. She frowned sadly, clearly remembering that fateful day when Lee was examined by Tsunade herself, Gai's reaction and hopeless words under his breath just as he was leaving, _"Saint without a sin, now a shepherd without a flock…"  
_

* * *

"You mean he's…pregnant?" 

"In a sense…"

"How?"

"I don't know…"

"What do you mean you don't know?"

"I mean what I say. There's something inside him and it's alive."

"A fetus."

"Yes."

"Inside of him."

"Yes…"

Kakashi stared at Tsunade with unblinking eyes of dry ice. He looked her directly in the eyes, making her cringe inwardly, "Tell me again, Tsunade-sama…Please, don't pull my leg. It's not funny…Tell me…What's wrong with Gai…What's wrong with my friend…" Tsunade's expression hardened, "What I say, Kakashi…Is the truth. I don't know how…I don't know why…But Maito Gai…your friend…Has a living organism inside his stomach…"

Kakashi looked away, heaving a forced sigh, almost hissing with an explosive anger that Tsunade had never witnessed before. He turned his back on her and walked away a few feet before stopping and bringing his hands up harshly to his face. He stayed like that for several seconds before abruptly turning back to her and looking at her with tired eyes, "What is it?"

Tsunade blinked, "What is it? What do you mean 'what is it'?"

Kakashi growled, annoyance clear in his voice, "I mean what I say. What. Is. It."

Tsunade sighed, looking away and placing a hand on her hips, "I'm not sure. Whatever it is, it's too large to surgically remove. It's merged itself with the wall of his stomach and his amino acids do not phase it. If we try to surgically remove it, we risk killing him…" Kakashi looked away again, shoving his clenched fists into his pockets, "And what of Gai if we let it be…?"

Tsunade became quiet, beckoning Kakashi's painful, hopeless gaze.

"If we leave it as it is…There are a few possibilities…One, it will grow and eventually kill him. Two…I know this sounds crazy…But he could… 'give birth' to it…so to speak…Three, it could simply die. Four, its immunity to his stomach acids will wear and the acids will kill and dissolve it…" She looked into Kakashi's eyes. Kakashi looked down at his feet, "So this…this thing… How do you know it's 'alive'?"

"It has a heart rate."

"What?"  
"It's faint but it's there."

"How…How the fuck could this have happened…"

"I don't know."

Kakashi brought his hands up to his face, "How do we tell him…?" Tsunade looked down at the floor thoughtfully, her eyes half lidded and her bottom lip tucked slightly underneath the upper.

"Should we even tell him at all? Does he really need to know?"

"If I had something inside of me, I think I would want to know."

"But this is Gai we're talking about. How will he take it…?"

"Kakashi…"

"How the hell do you prepare for that, I ask you? 'Congratulations, you're pregnant and you only have a year to live!'"

"Stop it…I'm not anymore happy about this than you are… If there's one thing I know, we can't hide this from him. It's his body, he has the right to know why he's hurting so much…"

"Kakashi-sensei! We're back!"

Kakashi looked back over his shoulder, seeing Naruto leading Neji and Tenten towards them. Tenten bit down on her lip before asking, "Is Gai-sensei okay? How is he? What's wrong with him?" Naruto held his hands over the back of his head, "Yeah, what's the news?" Tsunade bit her lip and lowered her eyes, causing Neji's blank expression to sink. Kakashi turned towards the three genin and cleared his throat, "Gai-sensei is…"

"Yeah?"

"Gai-sensei…Your sensei…That is Gai-sensei…"  
"Just tell us what's wrong with him! Please!" Neji growled, clenching his fists.

Naruto and Tenten gave him a glance before looking up at the copy-ninja and giving nodding approval to Neji's sudden outburst. Kakashi heaved a small sigh, glancing back at Tsunade for help but receiving none. His shoulders slumped with helplessness.

"He's sick…Very, very sick…We don't know if he'll get better…"

"What do you mean he won't get better?" Neji snapped.

Kakashi flinched, "What he has is incurable by medical or surgical means…"

"Is it cancer?" Naruto piped.

"No, Naruto," Kakashi growled softly.

Tenten's eyes were tearing up and she grabbed onto Neji's arm, "Is he going to die…?" Kakashi and Tsunade remained silent for a moment. Tenten wrapped her arms around Neji's for comfort, "Is he…?" Tsunade cleared her throat and spoke as softly as she could, "We don't know, Tenten. There are many possible outcomes…All we know is that he either will or he won't…We just have to let nature take its course. The only thing we can do for him is give him pain medication."

Tenten lowered her head as the tears came, "Can we see him…? Is he awake now…?"

Tsunade nodded gently, "He's still asleep as far as we know. We drugged him heavily when Kakashi brought him here, so he'll be out for a while. But you can still see him if you ever so wish to." Tenten nodded slowly and Neji bit down on his lip, "Thank you." Just as Neji and Tenten eased themselves towards the door to Gai's hospital room, Tsunade gently opened it, allowing them to pass through before shutting the door behind them.

"I'm sorry, Kakashi…" Tsunade said quietly. Kakashi looked up at her, bewilderment and exhaustion in his eyes, "For what?" Tsunade lowered her head, narrowing her eyes sadly, "I fear that…Gai will be another patient I cannot save…"

* * *

The next morning was warm and lazy and Gai was soon awakened. He yawned deeply and closed his eyes briefly, letting the dizziness in his head gently reside before he opened them again. Slowly, he rest his hand over his stomach, looking down at the blankets that covered him and kept him warm. He smiled slightly and tilted his head back and closed his eyes. The night before had been the first night in a while that he had had a decent night sleep. Not unlike Kakashi, he had been swarmed by nightmares of his own, nightmares that made him bitter in his heart. He tried to calm himself whenever that horrid feeling of anger rose in his chest. His anger only brought about pain, and a lot of it.

Just as he opened his eyes once more, Tsunade walked in through the door to his room, a clipboard in her hand and a pen in the other. Gai smiled cheerfully at the Fifth, "Good morning, Tsunade-sama!" Tsunade looked up at him from her clipboard and nodded, "Morning, Gai…How are you feeling this morning?" Gai tilted his head back slightly against his pillow, "I'm feeling better than I've ever felt before! When is the soonest I can go home?"

Tsunade blinked to his question, having been taken aback by it. She honestly hadn't thought about letting him step foot out of the hospital just yet, let alone a set date for it. She wanted to keep him here under supervision of the best medical ninja she could find, as well as to study the subject of his ailment. Breaking the news to him was the hard part and she thought it might be best that Kakashi shatter the glass for her.

It took her a while to answer him, stalling for time by glancing back and forth from him to her clipboard. This alone made the man uneasy, so she gave in and quietly replied, "Not yet."

"Not…yet?"

"Not yet."

"…Alright."

A few minutes of silence passed and Gai watched intently as Tsunade proceeded towards him with a small bundle of medical tools gathered up from a white cabinet in the far side of the room. Tsunade watched him with stale eyes, "I'm going to take a blood sample from you and put it through a series of tests." Gai nodded slowly, watching her eyes with his unblinking ones, "Alright, and what will these tests prove?" 

Tsunade sighed softly as she removed Gai's arm from the sleeve of his gown, pricked it with a needle and drew his blood from a selected vein, "I'll explain once the tests are completed and the results are in. This way you won't stress out over how the results will turn out." Gai looked away and blinked, furrowing his brows, "I understand…I think…"

"I'll be back after a while," Tsunade said as she left the room after wiping and bandaging up the prick in Gai's arm. Gai lowered his head sadly as he put his arm back into the sleeve of his gown and sighed, "I guess it's better to worry more what the tests will prove than what the results will be, I suppose…"

Gai laid there for what seemed like hours before he closed his eyes, thinking it might be best to simply relax and enjoy another restful sleep. Just as he tilted his head back against the warm pillow, the door to his room burst open, causing him to give out a startled yelp and shoot upright in his bed. The intruder was Kakashi, this time, he was in his normal ninja attire.

The green beast smiled widely to see him and opened his arms up in welcome, "Ah! Kakashi! Very nice to see you on this fine day! How are you?"

Kakashi jumped to Gai's booming salutation and nodded slowly. His eyes were underlined a darker shade of a grayish color, clueing Gai in a bit to just how he was. Gai's smile melted and he patted the side of his bed for Kakashi to take a seat next to his bed in a chair. Kakashi complied silently and sat next to the other man, placing his elbows on the mattress and burying his eyes in his gloved palms.

"Kakashi, what's wrong…?"

"These dreams… they won't stop…"

"Talk to Tsunade about it! Please, these constant nightmares you keep having is worrisome."

"I can't, Gai…I just can't…"

"Why not?"  
"Tsunade has enough to worry about…"

"Whatever is wrong with me is not as serious! I'm sure it's just a stomach ulcer. I'll be fine, you need help!"

"Gai…"

"Please, Kakashi! I hate seeing you like this!"

"…"

"…"

"Fine. I'll talk to her about it…as soon as I find out where she is."

"Thank you."

"…"

Gai reached over and placed a hand upon Kakashi's slumped shoulder, causing the other man to look up at him from his hands, "Whatever is wrong with you, I'm sure she can treat. She's strong enough to handle whatever is wrong with you and me at the same time." Gai grinned almost mischievously, "She IS the Hokage, afterall."

Kakashi blinked, narrowing his eyes slightly, then softening his expression before closing his eyes, lowering his head and softly laughing, "Heh…Of course…"

Gai shifted in his bed, smiling once again and removing his hand from Kakashi's shoulder, "Nothing helps a bad feeling like getting it off your chest! Want to tell me about it?" Kakashi glanced up at him slowly before sighing softly, "I don't know…You might think I'm crazy…" Gai's expression hardened, "I won't think anything less of you. Besides, it might help!"

Kakashi shook his head, "Alright…"

_Normally when you have a dream, it's illogical in every single aspect except when it concerns you as the subject matter. Everything around you is bent and warped to the point of you, as the dreamer, are able to see through the guise with ease and are able to tell fact from fiction. This dream…differs from that. Everything is shaped just so that it all seems…normal. Normal as in 'this could, can and will exist at some point in time'. _

_The dreams…that I have…there are things placed in reality that shouldn't be there. Things that come across as being birthed from the nightmares of others. They're human, yet they're not human. It's not something that I am capable of understanding. It's too terrifying for me to even begin to comprehend. These beings, Gai…they…they scare me…They scare the living hell out of me…These monsters…dare I call them such a name…They were humans…_

_What I see in this nightmare…Is a town…A ghostly town… I'm not sure of its name… All I know is that it's not of what we know. It's very industrious, vehicles of an olden age parked along the streets in scarce numbers. The streets, sidewalks and buildings are blanketed with dust and ash…and the entire town is swallowed by clouds of thick, smoky fog…_

_The streets themselves are streaked with blood…I'm not sure what spilled it, but its there, fresh and old…I encounter beings I just mentioned--monsters--and I flee…I run blindly and run into a metal sign, injuring myself in the process and I black out…Once I'm semi-conscious, I hear voices, voices of people, men and women, young and old. I can't see anything, but I feel fire along my skin…My body starts to burn as the people chant about some god that they worship…_

_It's as if I was an enemy to their religion…and they were destroying me…_

Gai looked shaken by the time Kakashi finished his explanation. He was pale with shock and disturbed beyond all questioning. He swallowed before asking a small question in a smaller voice, "Did these voices mention any names…?"

Kakashi shook his head, "No…Just 'God' and 'Christians'…I don't know what it was all about…" Gai lowered his head and heaved a little sigh, "That…is a terrible dream…You must see Tsunade about it immediately." Kakashi nodded reluctantly, "I will…eventually. What about your dream…? Tell me about it? If you don't want to, it's very understandable."

Gai lowered his head slightly more and stared into his sheets, "If you really must know, it was about my parents." Kakashi bit his lip under his mask and stayed silent.

"I don't know why I dream of it anymore…it happened so long ago…Twenty or so years I would say…"

_I haven't told you much about my past as a child because I didn't think you would really want to know or hear of it. But since you're asking now, I may as well tell you. Remember when you and I first met? At the Academy? Yeah, I was the smelly kid who was dirty, small and never smiled. Of course, if you remember back that far, I was picked on by nearly every kid there. It was tough but I made it through._

_You know the northwestern areas of Konoha? The slummy areas? I used to live there with my mother and father. I was poor with nothing but the dirty rags my mother sewed together for me to wear to school. My only true companion back then was the little worn-out half-decapitated teddy bear my mother gave me one year. Her only reason was 'I had enough for it and you needed a playmate.' I remember that teddy bear very well. It was brown and dirty and looked just as sad as I was._

_He gave enough consolation to make me forget about trying to make friends with the other children at school anymore. If there's anything I ever gave up as a child, it was trying to make friends with the children who were a lot more well-off than I was. One night, it was raining hard, the raindrops pummeling our poor little house. Some men came to our house, both looking serious and sinister. My mother panicked and shoved me into the small closet at the back of the house. She locked the doors and yelled at me to stop crying._

_She ran out of the room in which the closet held me and locked the door behind her as she shut it. I panicked and became claustrophobic, looking to my teddy bear for consolation. Loud crashing and clanking noises ensued screaming and pleading heard from the other rooms of the house. I wanted to scream and cry along but something inside told me that doing so would only make the situation worse. _

_Once the commotion stopped and two loud thuds were heard, the two men burst into the room in which I was imprisoned and busted through every object within it, gathering up every last ryo they could see. They ignored the closet I was locked in and left. As soon as they were gone, I busted through the closet door with what strength I had. The room was a complete mess. Every object was shattered and broken._

_I ran out of the room to my parents, only to find them laying in a heap, bloodied and bereft of life. To this day…just thinking of what happened to my parents and me…fills me with so much anger…and so much hate…_

_It hurts my stomach...  
_

* * *

** End of Chapter 2**


	4. Animus

_Chapter 3_  
**Animus  
**

* * *

It was rainy in Konoha and it had been about a week since Gai had last seen Kakashi and shared his nightmarish tales with the other. Tsunade let him go home today, which was nice, but something troubled him over the way she released him. Her voice was not as hard as it used to be. She was clearly on edge about something, but no matter how much he inquired her behavior, no secret would she reveal to him. 

Her quivering voice still rang clear in his ears: "The results came back a while ago, but I had forgotten to inform you…They all came back negative. They were tests to see if you had any sort of disease, cancer and what have you. All negative. Before you go, take this. These pills will help with the pain. Take them when you start to feel it coming on…Refills are free. Have a nice day."

He frowned sadly as he approached his house. Ever since he came home from the hospital over a year ago, his house held an unfriendly omen to it. It was docile and subtle but tense and unconsciously aggravated at the same time. He felt this sense of atmosphere to be unnerving and often found himself leaving his house just to not be there.

Slowly, he eased himself inside his house and shut the door behind him. He stood there with his back against the door and his hand still clutching the knob. Looking up at the ceiling, he sighed, "I know you don't like me…and I'm starting to not like you…At least until I'm cured of whatever it is that I have, let's be friends…?"

He lowered his head, his sad expression deepening, "I'm talking to my house…" Sighing, he made his way to his kitchen, reaping through his cabinets and drawers for utensils and cooking tools. He was hungry and craved for something hot. After laying out a few pots and pans, he stopped to ponder what exactly it was he wanted. He wanted something warm and gentle on his stomach.

Soup would do nicely, but the only kind of soup he had in his cabinet was tomato. Tomato soup was fine; not the kind he would have chosen but it will suit his needs. Grabbing a can from his cabinet he proceeded to set it on the counter and put unnecessary necessities away before opening the can and pouring it into a suitable sized saucepan.

He stood before his stove and waited after turning it on, putting the pain on a burner. As the soup came to a boil he took a wooden spoon and stirred it up, watching it with half-lidded eyes. His gaze wandered deep into the scarlet pigment of the soup as he rose the spoon from the saucepan, dripping the red liquid from the bowl of the spoon back into that of the pan.

_It looks like…_

"Blood…"

Gai gasped sharply and slapped a hand over his mouth, dropping the spoon into the boiling soup. His face grew pale and he slowly edged back from the stove, his eyes peering into the saucepan, "No…That's impossible…I'm home now…I want…to forget…"

_Blood…dripping…from the spoon…No…from the walls. Walls…of the stalls… Into the toilet he fell and down the drain he went to hell!_

"Shut up!" Gai cried out into the ceiling, his hands shooting up to cover his ears, "Please don't say such horrible things…"

Gai gave a loud startled yelp as a knocking came upon his front door, causing him to knock over a pan or two still left on the counter, causing a clatter about his floor. He sighed after a second, struggling to pull himself together as he quickly gathered up the pans and placed them back upon the counter before going into the living room to answer the door.

Gai opened the door just a crack, still shaken from being scared half to death in his moment of panic, "Who is it?" Kakashi arched his thin brow as he looked into Gai's eyes through the thin crevice between the door and the doorframe, "What's the matter Gai? You look like you've seen a ghost." Kakashi smiled cleverly underneath his mask as Gai narrowed his eyes in response to his question.

Stepping back and opening the door wide enough for Kakashi to slip through, he said, "Come in?" Bowing, the silver haired ninja stepped inside, almost silently refusing to pay Gai a passing glance. Today was the day that he'd tell Gai exactly what was going on. He turned with his mouth slightly agape, though hidden behind the mask, his eyes meeting the back of Gai's head as the green beast headed into the kitchen, "Would you like some soup? I have some on the stove if you'd like some."

Kakashi blinked wondering if it would be alright if he politely declined a bowl. He had just eaten and Gai was still as thin as ever. He had gained muscle mass back since he was released from the hospital after being treated for burns beyond the third degree, but his weight was not yet back to one hundred percent. Kakashi stepped forward and followed Gai into the kitchen, smelling the aroma of tomato soup through his mask. He found it difficult to change his mind about declining a bowl of soup from the other man, "Ahh… No, thanks, Gai. I …just ate."

Gai looked at him with a blank stare before smiling widely, "Alright then! Hope you don't mind me eating in front of you, I'm really hungry!" Kakashi's brow coiled upward slightly as he looked Gai over, "It's no problem. You need to eat regardless of company or not."

As Gai carefully poured the steaming hot soup from the saucepan into a bowl, he gently inquired, "So, what brings you here, Kakashi?"

"I…Want to talk to you about something."

"Yes? What is it? I'm all ears."

"It's…about your condition."

"Ahh don't worry about me, Kakashi! Why is everyone overreacting? I'm sure it's just an ulcer or something."

"It…" _Come on, you dolt. Tell him._

"I'm sure it's probably nothing."

_Tell him! Tell him, now! The iron isn't hot but that doesn't mean you can't strike!_

"Is something about it bothering you, my rival?"

"…No. No, it's nothing, Gai. You're right, it's…It's nothing to worry about."

_You can't protect him forever._

Gai smiled to this as he took a spoon and dipped it into his bowl, "Is that all you wished to talk to me about?"

Kakashi narrowed his eyes, _What else is there to talk about with you in your dying moments?_

"Err--um… No, no, of course not."

Kakashi leaned his back against the wall and folded his arms across his chest, trying to think of something interesting to start a conversation over.

"So, how's Naruto and Sasuke and Sakura?" Gai piped up from his soup.

The question caught Kakashi off guard, "Ehh--! They're, um, they're doing alright. Naruto was pretty worried about you there for a second the other day. So were Neji and Tenten. Maybe you should go see them and tell them you're alright…?" Gai looked up thoughtfully from his soup, "You're right, I should. I wonder where I would be able to find them?" Kakashi lowered his arms from his chest and looked at Gai thoughtfully, "Perhaps the training grounds?"

Gai didn't look at Kakashi, "Hmmm, yeah, maybe. I'll go look for them later. I need to freshen myself up a bit and clean up my house…it's a mess right now." Kakashi nodded slowly before easing himself off the wall of Gai's kitchen, "I should probably leave you to your business…"

As Kakashi turned, Gai interrupted, "Wait!"

Kakashi froze and stood there, his eyes narrowed slightly.

"Did you see Tsunade-sama yet about your…nightmares?"

Kakashi sighed softly, almost in relief, before he turned to look back at Gai and the serious look on his face over his shoulder before quietly answering, "Yes…She gave me medicine…" Kakashi turned and took out a small plastic bottle, on the white label printed in dark bold letters, "PTV." Gai stood up as he eyed the bottle, his somewhat relieved smile fading. Carefully, he made his way over to Kakashi and snatched the bottle from him, looking over the label.

"PTV…"

_White Claudia._

"Err--What…?"

"Gai?"

"Yes?"

"…Can I have my pills back?"

"Oh! Err…Sorry…"

Kakashi snatched the bottle from Gai's hands, shoving it back in his pockets, "Tsunade-sama said they would help."

Gai smiled weakly, "If you say so."

Kakashi arched a thin brow at Gai before turning to head to the door, "I'll see you later."

The green beast's smile faded to Kakashi's lifeless words, "Bye."

Gai turned back to his soup as soon as he heard the door shut. _White Claudia…Sounds familiar…but where have I heard it? I haven't heard of it before till today… Strange… _ Shrugging, Gai quickly consumed his soup before stretching out his limbs. He stared down at his feet for a moment before taking his bowl and setting it in the depression of his sink.

He stared out the window above it as he aimlessly turned on the water, gently holding his bony hands under the cool running liquid before letting it fill up his bowl and dissolving the leftover remnants of his soup. _Lee loved looking out this window. _He smiled, though weakly, even after having trained himself to smile whenever he thought of his late student for at least six months. Despite knowing Lee was in a better place, the fact still hurt him and made him angry, hateful, and sad.

Smiling helped calm these feelings of his, though briefly, and stalled enough time for him to come up with something meaningless to set his mind upon other than his passed-on reason to live. He watched the clouds pass over slowly in the azure sky above as he aimlessly washed his bowl. _Clouds…so…white and peaceful… But for some reason, I get the feeling it's going to rain soon._

Looking down from the window, he stared into the bowl of his sink, filled with water after having been plugged by a misplaced cloth at the bottom of the depression. Stray particles of the leftover soup floating around in the fluid and turning it an orangey reddish color. He cringed, his eyes locked on that scarlet color, becoming thick and sticky in his mind's eye. _Into the toilet he fell and down the drain he went to hell! HAHAHAHAHA!_

"Stop it!!" Gai wailed, flailing and lashing out a fist into the glass of his window, shattering both the glass and the skin about his knuckles. With wide eyes he stared into the cracked glass, breathing hard, his chest swelling inside with a moist sensation of absolute dread. Small beads of sweat formed on his forehead and gently streaked down his face, just as scarlet streams decorated his hand and dripped into waterlogged sink. _You thought you had left that world behind you._

Gently, he eased his hand from the cracked glass, cradling it against his chest as he drained the sink and filled it with new, clean water and clogging it with an appropriate drain plug. He was quick to find a pair of chopsticks, such a pair that proved worthy in its use to gently remove shards of glass that got stuck in his hand. Once he was sure all glass particles had been removed from his knuckles, he plunged his hand into the biting cold water.

He flinched, tightly closing his eyes momentarily before reopening them a crack, watching as his own blood added color to the water. _You're wrong. It's as real as your fear and it's much closer to home than you can imagine. You're just too stupid to know it._ He lowered his head sadly, staring into the bloodied water as it swirled around his wrist. _It's been over a year…No matter how much I want to forget that horrible place…It just won't leave me alone…_

The sudden ringing of the doorbell startled him and caused him to jump, splashing water over his face and shirt with a few droplets of blood here and there. Growling in annoyance, he grabbed a washing cloth from the counter and wiped off his face and wrapped it tightly around his hand. He treaded towards the door, a scowl painted cleanly on his face, "What is it now?"

Before he opened the door, he relaxed his expression, though still somewhat seething on the inside. He slowly eased it open, seeing that it was a ninja, unknown personally to Gai by name, though he was obviously a chunin. Carefully, the ninja reached into his vest and took out a small piece of paper, "Summons from Tsunade-sama. She says you may come whenever convenient."

Arching a thick brow, Gai took the note from the ninja and dismissed him with a sharp nod and "Thank you." As the ninja took off in a leap, he shut the door and pressed his back against it, "What does she want? I just got out of the hospital today. Why didn't she conference with me before then?" Sighing, he stared down at the floor, his obsidian eyes narrowed in annoyance and worry.

_I feel that this conference with Tsunade-sama will be a painful one…  
_

* * *

_End of Chapter 3  
_


	5. Rarefaction

_Chapter 4_  
**Rarefaction  
**

* * *

"What? You're…taking me off of active duty?" 

"Yes."

"But--Why?"

"You're sick Gai. You're ill. I'm not having you go out on missions with your ailment."

"But…Tsunade-sama! It-it can't be that bad--"

"It is that bad, Gai. Not only could it endanger the mission but it could very well endanger you. Because of your sickness, I'm retiring you completely."

"What…?"

"You heard what I said."

"B-but Tsunade-sama, there must be some mistake…Kakashi, he--"

"What did he say, Gai? You tell me. Did he tell you you'd be okay?"

Gai was staring down at his feet, his face pale and his eyes wide yet shaded. Tsunade's voice was hard and cold as ice, a tone he hadn't heard before but wasn't entirely used to. He looked up at her in his current shock. Her expression was deep. He was gazing into the blazing amber eyes of a very angry sannin.

"Answer me, Gai," she snapped, causing him to flinch but not look away, "Did he tell you you'd be alright in the end?"

"…Yes…"

Tsunade's eyes narrowed. She was furious, her fiery anger having totally stripped Gai of his manliness and sense of reality. He stood there, shaking, his fear and anger causing a throbbing pulsation in his stomach, his pale face dotted with beads of sweat. He was biting the side of his tongue as a means to keep from stuttering and clacking his teeth. The pain that was soon to come in his core mixed with Tsunade's angry stare and her decision to retire him was too much for him to handle on the inside.

Seeing his uneasiness, she huffed and relaxed in her chair, "Sit down, Gai." Slowly, Gai eased himself in a chair before he simply slumped, trying to relax under The Fifth's gaze. Sighing, Tsunade placed her elbows upon the surface of her desk, weaving her fingers together and resting her chin upon her knuckles. She looked him straight in the eye.

"You're very sick Gai. As far as I'm concerned, you're not going to get better any time soon. That's why I'm retiring you. Now, if by chance you do get better in the future and prove to be as healthy as you once were, I will put you back on active duty once more," She said softly.

Gai felt nauseous to her words, "And what of Tenten and Neji…?"

Tsunade sighed, looking up at the ceiling, staying silent for a moment or two. She closed her eyes and heaved yet another sigh before looking him square in his ebony eyes, "I think it be best that you discontinue your training with them. I'm retiring you completely until you get back to one hundred percent, assuming you will at all."

Gai gritted his teeth behind his gently closed lips, his eyes wandering down from Tsunade to the floor, "…I understand."

Slowly nodding, Tsunade stood, looking down at him while placing a hand on her hip, "As far as I'm concerned, your chakra is incredibly low. I would recommend you train lightly if you choose to do so at all. I know this must be hard for you to take all of this in but it's for your own good. You are dismissed."

Gai eased himself to his feet, already feeling weak in the knees from his 'illness', "Thank you, Tsunade-sama." Silently, he turned to leave, only to be sharply stopped by Tsunade, "Wait." He stopped at the door but did not look back at her over his shoulder.

"Take care of yourself," She said.

Gai lowered his chin slightly before exiting Tsunade's office and leaving the building entirely back to his little home. He shut the door behind him the minute he entered, pressing his back against the surface and lowering his head, closing his eyes. He felt tired and angry.

Easing himself from his door, he looked around his house, staring at the neat-and-tidy living room and through the door-less archway that lead into the kitchen. It held a foggy blue tint to it, if atmosphere could hold and present colors as such. To him it all seemed so…pointless.

_I lost my flock…and now my staff…_

Silently, he made his way into the kitchen, looking up at the cracked bloodied glass of his window. He blinked his tired eyes as he looked away and headed through the kitchen to the hallway and into his room. He walked up to his unmade bed, staring down at the navy blue blankets tousled and wrinkled. He got down to his knees and rest his head against the blankets, its soft warming texture welcoming to the skin of his face. He wondered if he should let it out now or do it in the shower under the protection of water droplets.

He closed his eyes as he heaved a soft, long sigh before standing and stripping himself of his shirt, tossing it down on the floor. He glared down at the fabric with frustration, nudging it with a shoed foot before he kicked off his sandals. He stared blankly at the two blue shoes with icy eyes, his lips tightening slightly as he ground his teeth together.

His eyebrows twitched slightly as his eyes narrowed to slits, his hands running down to the hem of his pants and sliding them down, letting them fall about his ankles before stepping out of them. Turning his attention to the bathroom, he peered in at himself in the mirror through the widely opened door. The man he saw in the mirror was black, obscured by darkness. It's presence presented an omen to him and it made him shiver and draw his arms up to cross about his chest, hands clasping his shoulders.

He would take a shower later, he decided and stepped out of the room into his hallway. Turning his head to his right, he stared down the empty hallway at the perpetually closed door, sheltering an empty, dusty room crowded with cardboard boxes. Turning, he made his way down the hallway to the door, reaching out a shaking hand to the knob, turning it, and thrusting the door open.

He stepped inside the haze of the softly lit room. Shutting the door behind him, he walked up to the crowding stacks of cardboard boxes, all of which old and tightly closed with interweaving lids. Carefully, he took a box from one of the piles and sat it down, sitting down in front of it with crossed legs. Gently, he pulled the tangled lid flaps open.

Within the dusty box was a stack of books, old books covered in dust and cobwebs. He reached in a bony hand and removed the top book, blowing dust and cobweb from the cover. Upon the golden plating over maroon leather lay in engraved writing: SHAKESPEARE. Slowly, he read the word over and over, getting it planted in his mind before quietly repeating it aloud, "…Shakespeare…"

He blinked, not ever recalling having bought any books of this type. He had never heard of Shakespeare before and the local book shop had nothing of the sort upon its shelves. Setting the book upon the ground, he reached in and pulled out another, this one a bit smaller. The black lettering over the leather brown cover clearly printed: MOTHER GOOSE.

He quirked a thick brow to this one, _Mother Goose? I've never bought any of these books. Whose are these? They are certainly not mine…_ Quickly, he put the books back in the box and slammed the lid flaps shut. He stood, gently shooing dust from his arms and clapping it from his hands before turning to leave. He exited the room, leaving the door open.

Quietly, he made his way back into his room, lowering his head as he made his way into the shower, turning on the light and closing the door behind him. He gathered towels, spreading them about the floor and looking into the mirror for a minute, freezing in place as his reflection stared him in the eye with an icy cold stare.

He looked down from his reflection's gaze, though his mirror image continued to stare with hate and disgust planted clearly in obsidian orbs. He turned his entire body away completely, reaching into the bathtub and turning on the water. Letting the water warm up, he stripped himself of his underwear. The afterimage of his reflection in his mind's eye gave him an engraved impression that left him feeling the need to cover himself up.

He was pushing away any and all logic and reasoning that concerned mirrors. Logic and reason did not exist anymore as far as he was concerned. Just as the water reached its desired temperature, he turned on the showerhead and stepped into the tub, dragging the shower curtain closed behind him.

Lowering his head, he closed his eyes and let the water drizzle over his hair, small streams of water streaking down his face, neck and shoulders. He let his mind wander just as his eyes opened and stared at his feet. He shook a bit in a trembling shiver, drawing in a sharp breath as he drew his hands back up to his arms. He watched as water trickled down into the drain of his tub.

_Kakashi lied to me…_

He closed his eyes tightly.

_Why would he lie to me about something like this? I don't understand…_

He shivered as the water ran cold and pelted him with the roughness of hail.

_I wasn't prepared for any of this!_

His trembling arms lowered, wrapping around his stomach as throbbing, piercing pain shot through his abdomen. He pressed an arm against the wall, bending over and groaning with pain. He grit his teeth to keep himself from crying out, tears welling up from behind tightly closed eyelids. The sharp pangs in his stomach heightened, causing him to cry out, "What's wrong with me!?"

Losing his balance, he flailed his arms out, trying to catch himself on the wall and shower curtains. He was blinded by pain, his mind and vision blurring and going fuzzy as he fell, slamming the back of his head against the back wall of his shower. He slid in the watery tub, his head now hanging limp with unconsciousness over the edge of the tub, his matted raven hair slightly caressed by the swaying curtains.

* * *

**End of Chapter 4**


	6. Christabella

_Chapter 5_  
**Christabella  
**

* * *

Kakashi stared blankly into the bottle of large white pills that which he held in his gloved hand. His visible eyebrow curled upwards with uncertainty, an ominous reluctance washing through him. He was not one to take any medication of this sort, or even at all if it wasn't absolutely needed. _I just need to take one, right…? Once every day?_ Sighing quietly, he removed a pill from its container and set both bottle and pill upon the surface of his kitchen counter. 

He turned, reaching for a cup from a cupboard, gracing his fingertips over the mahogany as he opened the door, grabbed a cup and set it closed. Filling the cup up with water from the faucet of his sink, he glanced back at the plastic little bottle. Once his glass was full, he slipped down his mask and tossed the pill into his mouth, washing it down with water.

He made a face, the powdery white pill having stuck to the back of his tongue before the water washed it away and leaving a dull sour taste in his mouth. _Could have at least made them cherry flavored…Or plastic capsule pills…_ He staggered towards the bottle and sealed its lid securely. He stood there for several minutes, looking over the plain white bottle. It almost seemed gray with the invisible, shadowy-black aura it emitted.

This bothered him.

He almost slammed the bottle down onto the counter of his kitchen before he strode out of the room completely, slumping onto his couch. He stared at the floor, his grayish tan carpet covered with intricate black lines that were formed by the darker seams of the softer material attached to the leather foundation. His eyes darted about the carpet, following the thicker of the lines as they flowed throughout his carpet like rivers over a scarred planet.

He twitched before violently throwing off his vest to the floor and tearing his mask from his face. His breath labored with his sudden movements, too quick for his tired body to handle. _Why didn't you just tell him the goddamned truth…_ He tilted his head back and closed his eyes, his chest and stomach swelling within with burning, sickening sensations. He ignored them; a specialty of his well practiced on ninja missions during which he had been ill.

He sat there for well over an hour, hoping to find sleep in his lazy loitering. His hair became limp, silver strands matted to the sides of his face. He was exceptionally warm. He wasn't surprised he was beginning to sweat. It was hot outside and he hadn't bothered with the air-conditioning.

"_Kakashi-sensei!"_

His head perked, his ears straining slightly. He opened his eyes and looked around, suddenly overcome by a feeling of alarm.

"_Kakashi-sensei!"_

Kakashi stood, looking around, a scowl forming on his face, "…Sasuke?"

"_Kakashi-sensei…!"_

It was Sasuke's voice alright, clouded and misty with a sense of sing-song hidden beneath its deep hardness. This little feature that presented itself in the hazy calls of his Uchiha student shocked and bothered him more than the fact that the boy was in his house in the first place. He would question that later and commend him on his achievement of sneaking in without him noticing, then scold him for entering and shoo him out.

Quickly adjusting his mask and securing it about his face, he set off the look for the Uchiha boy, his ghostly calls for Kakashi etching an uneasiness in the pit of the copy-nin's stomach. Sighing deeply as he headed towards the sound of the voice, he called back, "Sasuke! I know you're here. Just come out, I don't feel like looking for you."

"_Kakashi-sensei!"_

Kakashi had reached the source of the calls, a small figure standing in the hallway that lead to his bedroom. Kakashi only could see a black silhouette of the Uchiha, as well as his two black eyes, opened wide and staring directly into his own. He stood completely still, neither moving or blinking. His teeth showed through a growing opening just below his eyes, the corners of his mouth creeping up to form a grin.

Kakashi blinked to this. Sasuke Uchiha never smiled. Ever. Not like that at least. He arched a brow upward, "Sasuke…?" The boy didn't respond aside from simply standing there in the darkest parts of the hallway, a creepy playful grin glued to his face. At least his Sharingan wasn't activated.

Sasuke's stare drilled holes into Kakashi's eyes, causing him to slowly back away, "Sasuke, is that you? Answer me." This was the first time any of his students had scared him without startling him with a sudden loud, bloodcurdling cry while he was reading his books. Sasuke stood still, not answering, moving or even blinking.

_Naruto probably put him up to this… I don't know why Sasuke would follow through with one of Naruto's pranks… I guess even the Uchiha need a laugh or two now and then… This is starting to lose its humor though… Maybe since he's so deprived of laughter he doesn't know when to stop…_

"Okay, Sasuke. You can stop now. You scared me a little bit there, but enough is enough," Kakashi said, putting up his gloved hands before his chest, smiling slightly underneath his mask. Sasuke stood still, not losing that awful grin.

Kakashi was just getting angry now, "Sasuke, stop it. Now." Sternness was hard in his voice and he narrowed his eyes. Sasuke's stillness shocked him beyond even the smile. Sasuke never disobeyed him. Ever. Even when the boy thought his orders were bullshit and even told this to his face, he still obeyed him. Kakashi lurched, staring directly into Sasuke's unblinking eyes, beads of cold sweat forming about his forehead and trickling down his face. His head felt light and his vision went in and out of focus.

His breathing labored as his balance became an issue to him, the ground seeming to shake underneath him and make it a struggle to keep himself on his feet. He did not look away from the Uchiha even as he felt his own consciousness begin to slip, "Sasuke… What's the meaning of this…"

Sasuke's lips twitched, "The Order…Is your friend…Kakashi-sensei."

Kakashi's eyes widened, his throat tightening as he fell to his knees, "The…Order…"

"They will show you to Paradise…Kakashi-sensei…"

"Para…dise…"

* * *

"A pregnant man. Now I've fucking seen _everything_!"

Gai moaned softly as consciousness came to him, his head throbbing and beckoning a hand to cover his eyes. A voice barked at him from the farthest corner of his bedroom, the voice of a small girl no physically older than eleven years, "Next time you go unconscious while naked, close your legs you sick-o."

Gai forced himself to open his eyes and turn his head to the voice. He saw a blurred figure in white with dark hair flowing about and below her shoulders. Looking away before his vision adjusted, he closed his eyes again, sucking in oxygen through his nose in deep breaths.

The voice piped again, "For fuck's sake… You didn't fall asleep again did you? For the love of some god, wake up. We have work to do."

Gai opened his eyes once more and looked down, noticing he was in his bed, cradled by wet sheets. He was indeed naked but covered up about his waist by damp blankets. From his bed there was a trail of water that had seeped into his carpet. He laid his head back down once more and closed his eyes, bringing a hand to cover his forehead, "What happened…?"

"You went unconscious on me. That's what the hell happened," the voice hissed.

He eased himself up, wincing to sharp pains jolting through his back, neck and head. Once he stabilized himself in a sitting position, he looked to the source of the voice. The host suited the voice's tone and pitch, but language and attitude was a different matter.

She sat in a rocking chair--one he never remembered being there--her legs dangling over the edge, the tips of her black buckled shoes barely grazing the ground. Her hands were planted upon the arms with tight authority and her distorted expression held a mix of disappointment and frustration. Her skin was pale with a tint of gray, utterly put to shame by her white dress, which seemed to glow in the darkness. Her dark hair flowed about her shoulders and face, matched by her furrowed eyebrows. The girl's dark eyes glowed with power, a power she knew she possessed.

Gai was struck by the sight of her. He squinted his eyes as he looked her over, "Who…? Who are you?" He closed his eyes tightly before opening them up once more, "Are you…Alessa?"

The girl almost exploded to the question, her eyes widening with anger. She was quick to calm herself, though still showed her anger through tightly grit teeth, "No. Call me by that name again and I'll make sure your death is an incredibly slow and painful one."

Gai blinked to the girl's threat, narrowing his eyes slightly before calming himself down as well, knowing it's best to be patient with children who have such attitudes. Sighing deeply, he looked back up to her, "I apologize. What's your name?" To this, the girl smiled. It would have seemed sweet to Gai had it not had a hint of sour in it, "My name is Christabella." Gai nodded slowly, "Why are you here in my house, Christabella?"

She blinked, her smile fading, "I'm not here by choice. I was sent to the house of the one who will bring us Paradise. And apparently, that one is you." Gai narrowed his eyes, "Paradise? What exactly is this Paradise, Christabella? Why me? Why am I the _one_ you're talking about?" The girl sneered, "It's name speaks for itself! Don't give me that tone of voice! It's all Alessa's fault! If she wasn't so goddamned _stupid, _I wouldn't be _here_!"

Gai growled softly, not taking well to the girl's attitude as she wasn't to his. She stood up from the chair, holding a large grayish brown teddy bear to her, "I'm here to stop you from bringing Paradise. I'm here to help you." Gai looked away, "Bullshit you're here to help me…" He blinked to his own words, not having meant or even expected to hear himself say something like that.

"Joke's on you because I'm not lying this time. In fact, I've already made the preparations for stopping this thing," she said, pointing to Gai's abdomen. Gai looked down, grazing his fingertips over his taut stomach. A symbol had been drawn over his belly in dark red ink. It was a messily shaped circle with a large isosceles triangle within a smaller circle inside it. Between the lines of the two circles were various smaller symbols, as well as inside the triangle, hieroglyphics of a language unknown to him.

He looked up to the girl, "What is it…? What's it mean…?" She walked up to him and sat her teddy bear on the edge of the bed, "It's the Seal. They're afraid of it. It's supposed to halt the coming of Paradise." Gai looked back down at his belly, tracing the lines with his fingers, "Seal? What do you mean 'Paradise'? Isn't it supposed to be a good thing?" Christabella glared at him, the corners of her small mouth twitching, "You'll see just how _good_ it is. Until then, _sir_, I bid you adieu."

"What? Wait! I have questions for you!" Gai hollered, watching almost helplessly as she backed away into the darkest recesses of Gai's room, disappearing into the shadows. Gai grimaced, "Damn it…"

_Alessa… What's happening to me…? Is this your doing…?  
_

* * *

**End of Chapter 5**


	7. The Opened Way

_Chapter 6_

**The Opened Way  
**

* * *

Gai laid his head down onto his pillow, dragging up an arm and resting it over his eyes in confused exhaustion. Questions that he feared would have no answers swirled in his head, the stress of not knowing anything in his current state proving too much for him. He drew the blankets up further over his body, relishing the feel of warm silk sheets against his skin. He rolled onto his stomach, nestling half his face into his pillow. 

As vulnerable as he felt, he couldn't help but want to stay like this forever. At that very same moment, he wished for any sort of higher power that might be out there to gently take his life away from him. He closed his eyes, feeling the warmth of light rays over his back disappear as the sun drowned. He opened his eyes as he nuzzled the cloth of his pillow, _You're never there when I need you the most…_

He adjusted his pillow, pulling it up closer to him to prop his head at a higher, more comfortable elevation. As light perished, he let his consciousness be a thing of the past and drifted off into darkness.

* * *

_Kakashi-sensei…_

Kakashi felt his heart jump at the sound of his own name, his comprehension of the word delayed by his slow awakening. His hair was matted to his face with mud accompanied by bits and pieces of crimson blood, his entire being soaked and dirtied by the fall of a warm rain. He felt sick to his stomach, an ill feeling he couldn't ignore despite his drowsiness and experience. It wasn't in his power to let the bloody churning in his body slip by his notice.

He opened his eyes, sore and dark underneath from exhaustion. His joints ached and his spine shivered with cold. His body trembled as he struggled to gain foundation with the ground and ease himself up to his knees. He was stopped frozen by a ghostly voice that burned like acid in his ears, "The Mark of Samael has been activated…But no matter. He will come despite this…intermeddling."

Kakashi lifted his head the best he could, feeling dizzy and unbearably weak in his trunk. His left eye was blind to all around it without the assistance of his now missing hitai-ate. His breathing labored as he struggled to see with his left eye, the blurry darkness swirling before it like smoke from a cigarette. His right eye saw a figure, slender but aged with back to him, blurred beyond his ability to judge gender differences. His only guide was their voice, as warped and painful as it was to listen to.

_M-my chakra… it's…gone…_

"You will help to bring him here. That is your purpose."

_My…purpose…_

"I will deal with whatever impudence is threatening my plans. You will be rewarded for your actions, mind you."

Kakashi's limbs gave out, causing him to fall flat onto his face in the mud. He turned his head the best he could, spitting mud from his lips before choking out in a raspy voice, "Who are you… What is it that you're after…?" An unknown force pressed down hard upon him, forcing him into the mud with the accompaniment of dull throbbing pains swelling in his lower back and chest.

The figure ignored his inquiries and said in a still voice, "He is to remained unharmed until the time comes. Only then will I be able to drown this world in a lake of fire..."

_Fire…_

The figure slowly evaporated into the thickening atmosphere, blending in with the growing fog. Kakashi felt a writhing constriction about his neck as the figure disappeared, causing him to squirm against the mud, choke and gasp for air through gaping lips.

"Wait…" He gargled against the mud, struggling against the slick earth, "…Wait!"

He stayed down, silently cursing himself for being in such a state of weakness. His breathing stabilized as he silently lay in the mud before he made another attempt to stand. This brought him success as he slowly rose to his feet. He was covered in mud but that didn't bother him as much as his complete lack of chakra and face mask.

He was surrounded by a thick layer of ominous fog, almost smoke-like, and it aroused a fear produced by his nightmares, a sinister phobia that plagued him all throughout the days and nights, asleep or awake. Slowly, he moved about the fog, waving his hands out in front of him, pushing mist from his path like as if he were swimming. As the vapor began to clear, his fears were confirmed.

He stood upon a street, concrete and smeared in scattered areas with crimson, buildings and plazas cramming at each side of the road with a parked mobile at the side here and there. The place was deserted, the buildings torn and worn due to neglect. He shivered as he looked around, his teeth gritted and his heart racing.

He was back.

His ninja instincts abandoned him as his mind raced for suggestions on what to do how to do it. He obviously couldn't just stand there and do nothing, but to wander through this ghost town and meet the beings he saw in his dreams was something he wished to avoid at all costs. Tightly, he closed his eyes, grinding his teeth as he gathered his strength, _I can't flee…I must check this area out…No matter what…_

Slowly he opened his eyes, clenching his fists as he pushed himself to mobilize himself along the road. The area was completely silent, saved for a softly blowing breeze and the nothingness, a nothingness that roared in his ears like a freight train. It made him uneasy.

Reluctantly, he began down the road into the unknown, kunai and shuriken at the ready. He felt what little chakra he had left depleting with every step he took, small beads of sweat forming over his forehead and sliding down his bare face. He felt naked without his mask and often found himself holding his arm up over his nose and lips as he made his way down the streets.

He stopped, jumping and yelping slightly as a small sound pierced his ears. Automatically, he whipped out a kunai, holding it up in front of him as his wide eyes looked around frantically for the source of the sound. Although it was unlike the sounds he faced in his dreams, he was still shoved into a state of terror and apprehension. The sound was soft, almost like a sniffle, the sniffle of a person, a human being.

His heartbeat ceased to race as he slowly edged forward, staring hard through the fog as he neared a figure. Sure enough, it was a human being, an adolescent holding their hands up to their face, softly crying into the palms. Their back was facing him and he slowly lowered his guard, despite his ninja instincts screaming for him to do otherwise.

The weeping adolescent was clad in a familiar outfit, green but worn and torn around the edges, baring skin that was bleeding, bruised or burnt. The forearms were tightly wrapped in bloodied tape and orange leg-warmers were reddened and ripped in small areas, revealing training weights secured about the ankles, as well as blue sandals caked in mud.

It took a minute to recognize the boy before he whispered softly in disbelief, "Lee…?"

The boy jumped to the sound of his own name, looking back at Kakashi with wide, horror-stricken eyes. Before Kakashi could reach out to the boy, Lee bolted away, not running in the usual ninja fashion, but as a scared teenager running for his life. Kakashi narrowed his eyes as he started off for the genin, pushing all notations of logic and reason to the back of his mind. Fear disappeared and he gained enough strength to speed up in his attempt to chase the other. In hopes of maybe stopping the child in his tracks, he called out, "Lee! Wait! It's just me, Kakashi-sensei!"

Lee kept running, not looking back. Cursing under his breath, Kakashi followed him through alleyways, crevices and other various obstacles through which the genin fled. Despite his speed and agility, it wasn't long before Kakashi lost sight of Lee and slowed, his breathing labored and his muscles aching. He growled in frustration as he pushed himself, _This is unlike me at all…It's like my abilities are being restricted by something…_

He knew his stamina wasn't exactly the best in the world, but this lack of energy was ridiculous!

"Let him go," said a trite voice from behind Kakashi when he finally stopped to catch his breath. The copy-nin whipped around to the aged voice, shocked to hear another human voice other than his or Lee's. He squinted his eyes, making out a feminine silhouette. He eyed her as she stepped closer, her image crystal clear to him despite the fog. He narrowed his eyes at her.

"Who are you?" he almost growled in a heated voice.

"My name is of no importance to you, but if you really wish to know… My name is Anna. Anna Carlie," the woman said, brushing dark red hair from her face. She stared at him with cold, stale eyes, small pools of obsidian that told tales of horror and suffering, both witnessed and endured. She was shorter than he by an inch or two and consisted of a frail form and pale skin hidden under a short mop of dark strands.

She was clad in a dark burgundy robe, her hands hidden and feet clad in black leather shoes. Kakashi relaxed slightly as he examined her, concluding ultimately that she was no threat to him. He straightened, clearing his throat a bit before he spoke as his body rested, "Alright then, Anna. Why should I let the boy go? What exactly do you know about him?"

She narrowed her eyes slightly but spoke in a gentle tone, "He fears. Do not chase a frightened creature for nightmares upon it you will certainly bring." Kakashi growled in irritation, "And why in hell is he afraid of me?" Anna closed her eyes and lowered her head, "It is not you that the child fears…"

"Then what is it! For some god's sake, what is he afraid of!" Kakashi shouted, his voice hoarse with an ever growing exhaustion. Anna froze momentarily before softly replying, "The Order…"

"The…Order…?" Kakashi quieted, not liking the sound of what he just heard and repeated softly under his breath. Anna nodded slowly before turning her back to him, "They…have touched you." Irritation flooded Kakashi's eyes once more, "What are you talking about? What is this Order?"

Anna lowered her head almost sadly and sighed deeply before she spoke, "A terrible group of terrible people…You had best redeem yourself…They will swallow you whole once God is born…I wish to be of help, but I cannot…Be at peace my friend for peace will be your ally…Reject them and their sinfulness…The more you do the slightly higher chance you will have of recovering from their evil…I wish you good luck, my friend…"

As Anna began to slowly drift down the street, Kakashi reached out for her, a sudden aching fear filling his chest, "Wait! Please! Where is this place? What the hell is wrong with this town?" His heart raced as she stopped but didn't look back at him. She only lowered her head some and chuckled softly under her breath.

"Silent Hill."

* * *

**End of Chapter 6**


	8. Memories

_Chapter 7_  
**Memories  
**

* * *

Gai was startled awake to the sudden ringing of his doorbell followed by a frantic knocking at his front door. As he relaxed, he sighed in irritation, not wanting to get up out of bed. A sense of comfort had devoured him and the thought of leaving the pit of its stomach filled him with a loathsome dread. He whimpered as he rolled himself out of bed, untangling himself from the mess of blankets in which he had been so comfortably wrapped. 

He stumbled towards his drawer, yanking it open and grabbing a pair of shorts. He ran towards the door while slipping them on, almost falling a few times before he reached the door. Cautiously, he dragged it open as far as the lock chain would allow it. He looked through the crack to see a fellow jounin, Asuma, who had a deadly serious look on his face. Gai, in his frustration, struggled a smile, "What is it, Asuma?"

Asuma's eyes widened slightly, "Gai! It's Kakashi! He's missing!" Gai blinked, not surprised over the news. Kakashi was, however, the last person he wanted to think about, much less worry over. He was the one person he couldn't trust anymore, at least not as easily as he once did. "I wouldn't know where he is, Asuma. I'm sorry, but I can't really help you," he said almost uncaringly.

Asuma reached in, the adrenaline in his speed and power breaking Gai's door chain as it thrust through between the door and frame, grabbing onto Gai's naked arm and clasping it with a vice grip, "Come on. Tsunade-sama sent out summons for you, Kurenai and me. The only one needed in her office is you, Gai. Now come on."

Gai's fuzzy eyebrows knitted in anger at the sound of Tsunade's name, "I'm off duty. I'm sorry but I cannot be of help." It's not like he wanted to look for a compulsive liar anyway. Asuma narrowed his eyes as he flew Gai's door open and dragged the partly naked beast out of the house, "Off duty or not, you're coming."

"Asuma!" Gai growled in outrage, "At least let me get properly dressed!" Asuma took to the rooftops with Gai trailing behind, almost dangling by his arm caught in Asuma's grip, "There's no time. She called for us immediately. You can get dressed later." Gai narrowed his eyes further and hissed under his breath, "For god's sake…"

Gai was struggling to quell his anger when Asuma dragged him into Tsunade's office. It was bad enough he had to face the woman who destroyed his life once more, much less take orders from her, and being in nothing but his underwear only made things even worse. Tsunade noticed his anger quickly with a single glance and forced herself to ignore his nakedness. Shizune hid her blush behind a small black book she was holding. Kurenai paid him a short glance from her station before Tsunade's desk.

Gai crossed his arms over his chest, "What is it? What about Kakashi? So what if he's missing?"

Gai's hateful tone and careless words shocked all but Tsunade. Kurenai turned to him, "You sound as if you're happy he's gone, Gai." Gai tensed, _Oh, you caught me. I thought I was being so damn discreet_, "I am, Kurenai. Kakashi is the last person I want to think about." Asuma stayed silent, but looked to Tsunade, only finding a disturbed look in her eye.

He followed the trail of her eyes to Gai's stomach, as did Kurenai. Tsunade frowned, "Have you been getting rebellious tattoos, Gai?" Gai narrowed his eyes, outraged by such a condescending question, "Excuse me? Do I look like some incompetent teenager to you? Well, Tsunade?" Gai stopped instantly, his eyes going wide and a sharp gasp escaping his lips. His arms wrapped tightly around his stomach as his knees gave out, the symbol on his stomach pulsating as the color of his skin began to change.

Tiny scarlet splotches slowly appeared over his skin, gently pulsating as he doubled over in pain. Kurenai and Shizune ran to him, "Gai! What's wrong?" Gai's skin stretched over his spine, the ridges of each individual vertebrae becoming visible as they poked out, like the ribs of an emaciated hound. Gai's cries of pain seemed to be forced out, his breath and voice pushed through the tightly narrowing valves of his trachea, "Tsu…Tsunade...sama…!"

He choked and his lungs jerked, his stomach lurching as his mouth opened, his the bones of his jaw snapping from an unseen strain from within his throat. He was on all fours, his limbs trembling as his eyes rolled to the back of his head, beads of sweat forming over his forehead and streaking down his face as black vines slithered out of his mouth from deep within him. His body froze as they slithered over and around his body to the floor, the air around him filled with screams of terror.

The last scream he could hear was his own, his eyes snapping open to the dark blueness of his bedroom ceiling, his mouth opened wide, releasing horrified cries from their prison. His cold hands were gripping his bed sheets; his pillow, to which his hair was matted, was damp in spots from sweat. When he calmed, he could only stare up at the ceiling with wide eyes. His face ached, as did his chest, neck and shoulders.

He pulled the blankets up over him, for they were down just below his bellybutton, the ruffled fabric barely grazing his warm skin. He rolled over onto his belly, heaving a sigh of hopelessness. He turned his head against the pillow and opened his eyes, his heart racing. What exactly was it that he had witnessed in his slumber? Did he die? What were those things that came out of his body?

He shivered with fright and cold. He didn't want to know. Still, it terrified him. Somehow, he felt that it was connected to whatever it was that was wrong with him. Or was it? Was he just imagining things? Could it just be a dream and nothing more? It all made is head hurt, especially early in the morning. Normally, he would get up without having to think about much except what the day's lesson plan for his team was.

He sighed and buried his face back into the fabric of his pillow. He let out a hopeless sob, not wanting to think of the good old days he had with his team. A teacher he was no more. He didn't know at this point who it was he should blame. Lee? Gaara of the Sand? Himself? Blaming Gaara seemed like the best yet unhealthy choice, though his inner feelings knew it was himself that was to be held responsible. Though Gaara did try to kill his precious student, it was he who taught the boy the very ability that destroyed him forever.

"Why are you still here?" piped a small voice, young and feminine, yet sharp and demanding.

Gai lifted his head and turned it to the source of the sound, the young girl in a white dress with a rotting teddy bear in one hand. It was Christabella, with an enraged look on her face, "I asked, 'why are you still here'! You should have gotten a move-on already! What gives?"

Gai sat up, holding the blankets over his body, "What do you mean why am I still here? Do I have no right to stay in my own home?" Christabella sighed heavily, "Don't go yapping to me about 'rights'. You have no damn rights! You're supposed to do what they want until the very end when we fucking squash them! Don't you fucking understand!?"

Gai stayed silent, glaring at her. She rolled her eyes and threw down her teddy bear, "Fine, I'm sorry. Just… get up and get ready to leave, alright? We have work to do. Lots and lots of work to do. Now, hurry the hell up! I'm not waiting all eternity for you!" Huffing in frustration, Christabella grabbed up her teddy bear and stormed out of Gai's bedroom.

After watching her leave in silence, Gai looked down at his bed. He tightly shut his eyes, envisioning Lee's smile in his mind. _Lee…Why did things have to turn out like this…? It's all my fault… this chaos is because of me…_ He lowered his head, hot tears welling up in his tightly shut eyes. His shoulders trembled and his face creased, his facial muscles aching. His body shuddered against a placed weight, his head rising and his eyes meeting the angry mismatched irises of Kakashi, who was partly crawling onto his bed and sitting. The copy ninja's gloved hands shot up and wrapped around Gai's neck, his weight forcing the other down on his back and choking him.

"Good morning, Gai," Kakashi hissed, his naked face deeply lined and shadowed with his rage. Gai could only grip at the other's wrists, choke and gasp for oxygen and stare up at his rival with terrified eyes. Kakashi pressed his thumbs down on Gai's windpipe, his nails digging into the green beast's flesh and breaking the skin, "Not going out for a jog this morning, _Eternal Rival_? Well good, because you're not going anywhere."

Gai's back arched as he clawed at Kakashi's wrists, his eyes closing tightly. Kakashi was on top of him now, pinning down Gai's legs with his own. Gai's head was tilted back, his eyes rolled to the back of his head, his mouth gaping open and begging for air. Kakashi had his windpipe sealed shut.

"I'm going to ask you about something that I know you know about. I know you're hiding something from me, Gai. It's as plain as the look on your face," Kakashi growled softly in Gai's ear, "and you're going to tell me about it whether you want to or not… I'll drag it out of you…even if it means I have to torture you to the brink of death to get it."

Gai's face was turning blue, his expression going lax and his grip on Kakashi's wrists weakening. Kakashi let up his thumbs from Gai's throat, allowing a moderate amount of air to pass through. Gai choked and gasped, horrible, inhuman sounds escaping his trachea.

Christabella stood in the doorway of Gai's room, watching intently, "Geez. Poor man's life is like a soap opera. I may have to be nicer to him in the future if I don't want him to get all weepy again."

Kakashi's terrible glare faltered not as he stared Gai directly in the eyes, "You know of a place that others do not. You know because you've been there. I know you've been there and you're going to tell me what the fuck that place is." Gai flinched, struggling to look away from Kakashi's steely stare, "What are you talking about…?"

Growling, Kakashi put all of his weight on Gai's neck, sealing the man's windpipe once more, "You know exactly what I'm talking about! Now spill it! What is that godforsaken town! What is Silent Hill!?"

Christabella swallowed the lump in her throat to Kakashi's question, becoming nervous about the situation that was playing out in front of her. She didn't expect anyone other than Gai in this foreign world to know about the town, much less know that Gai was involved. It was supposed to be a secret, but Gai wasn't to blame right away, that much she knew then and there. Gai had truly struggled to put it behind him with psychiatric help. Every aspect of logic, as well as Gai's own intuitions, made it impossible to place all—if any—blame on Gai. Someone out there spilled it and she was going to find out who it was and kill them.

Gai's eyes widened with horror at the sound of those words, those two simple little words that spelled out something horrible when put together side by side. His heart raced once again in his chest, pounding his ribcage with such a force that he feared he would get sick at his stomach. However, the sensation quickly passed out just as he did, limp and pale underneath Kakashi with his eyes cracked and lips gaping open.

Kakashi cursed as he pushed himself off of Gai, staring at him with an intense frustration gleaming in his mismatched eyes. His heart swelled with a sudden hatred, a blossoming hatred that warped him and caused his head to ache, "Fine. I have all the time in the world. No matter how long you lie there dead, Gai… I'll be here when you wake up."

* * *

_Kakashi… Oh how I wish you knew…_

"_With! Witch! Alessa's a witch!"_

_This didn't happen because I wanted it to…_

"_We'll go there, alright? To Silent Hill, Cheryl. Sound like fun?"_

_Who knows… Maybe I'm not the only one…_

"_Remember who you truly are, Heather, and me as well."_

_You don't understand… You don't understand at all… I understand that you may have seen it…but to experience it as I have… You don't have the capability to comprehend it…_

"_What is that godforsaken town!? What is Silent Hill!?"_

_I wish I knew how to explain it…I really do…But…_

_Words cannot describe such a place in an accurate manner. I don't believe that words for it even exist. The questions that you ask, Kakashi, are questions that were never meant to have answers. If you truly wish to know…ask the girl that brought this down upon me in full force…_

His vision was isolated. It wasn't even his eyes seeing what he witnessed, but a presentation that projected images to him. His eyes were blind with uselessness. The classroom before him seemed dirty and old with a grey dustiness that signaled its desertedness. The edges of the image were torn and blackened, almost as if he was watching a motion picture.

"_Why…they hate me…? I don…understa…Someon…elp me pleas…Don…wanna die…!"_

The crackled voice played throughout his mind, his ears and soul. He couldn't quite make it out, since it was surrounded by strong white noise. The voice was warped, deep yet high, dry and yet soft, alone yet surrounded by others. The voice terrified him as it pleaded, choking sobs racking the voice as it spoke in a horrified tone.

A twitching white silhouette appeared in the classroom, and then vanishing just as quickly as it appeared before reappearing once more, rapidly swaying in short motions in the body, but the head twitched and rolled about the figure's shoulders. It seemed to crouch and shake more violently, _"…ate them…I ha…em all!"_

The picture stopped and cleared, darkening in small blotches before spreading about the entire plane as if it was a piece of parchment catching ablaze.

_Alessa…_

_This is partially your fault… but also partially mine._

_If I wasn't in such need of closure after Lee's death…I never would have attracted the powers of the town that you tainted with whatever powers you possess._

_If I had never been drawn into your personal hell…I wouldn't have to be dealing with whatever it is that's wrong with me._

_You put this thing inside of me, didn't you._

_I know you did._

_It's going to give way to something terrible isn't it?_

_I will make sure that, whatever it is…you don't nail it to anyone else._

_I will be your last victim._

_I promise._

"_Thank you…"  
_

* * *

_End of Chapter 7.  
_


	9. Through the Gate

**Chapter 8**  
_Through the Gate  
_

* * *

Kakashi stared down at Gai beneath him, his cheeks flushing with feverish frustration. Gai's breathing had gradually returned to the normal patterns of a regularly sleeping man, though silent in its heaviness. Christabella, who was still watching from in the doorway, was getting nervous; _I can't let this psycho kill him… But what can I do against a brute like that? He'__d__ pulverize my teddy bear!_

"You're the one they're after, aren't you," Kakashi murmured, looking over Gai's still form. Christabella bit down hard on her lip, holding her teddy bear close to her. Kakashi's eyes narrowed, "You're the one that they want… It's you that they want me to bring… Isn't it…"

Christabella went pale and stopped breathing, pressing herself against the doorframe. Kakashi eyed Gai's body, his hand pulling down the blanket to just below Gai's bellybutton, revealing the emblem that Christabella had marked him to the ceiling and Kakashi's view.

"It is you. I never thought anything like this would ever happen. You were severely burnt that day…" Kakashi's thoughts raced as he followed the dark crimson ink in its intricate design. His eyes were clouded with nothingness, a sense of incompetence and helplessness engulfing him at the pit of his stomach.

"Maybe this would all end right here and now if I were to just kill you…" Kakashi mused aloud, reaching into his supply pouch behind his back and sliding out a kunai. Mismatched orbs traveled to Gai's neck, almost visualizing the jugular vein under the skin. He reached over, lightly pressing the tip of the small blade to Gai's throat. He hesitated before running the blade down Gai's middle to his stomach, careful not to break any skin while doing so.

"It would be wise to make this as clean as possible… I'm sorry, Gai… But I don't want to suffer anymore…" Kakashi whispered before slowly raising the kunai up in the air, aiming carefully for Gai's navel. He waited as if to think first before committing what he was about to do, staring unblinkingly into Gai's being.

"You were… a good friend…" He said slowly before pulling back the kunai and slamming it down towards Gai's abdomen.

The blade was stopped violently, dark angry orbs meeting Kakashi's. Kakashi felt as if he were unconscious, his vision of eyes—Gai's eyes—blurring as his hand relaxed on the handle of the kunai. The blade rested within an intertwining mixture of flesh and bone, bleeding a dark crimson that stained the sheets of the bed as well as Gai's belly.

Gai's fingertips clutched the handle of the kunai just as Kakashi released it, the thickest of the cold metal resting within his palm while the tip emerged from the back and lodged itself within the twitching knuckles. Gai's breathing was ragged, hoarse and rumbling, almost like a hideous growl. Christabella crossed her arms across her chest, smirking at the look in Gai's eyes, an orangey crimson aura hazing about the rims of his black irises, _Mr. Scarecrow's in trouble now. Heh... Hopefully he'll be out of the picture for good. He doesn't seem like someone I'd like to have at my heels. He could prove to be a real nuisance in the future…_

Kakashi stared into Gai's eyes, watching as a rage that seemed to have been hidden within the other ninja was being made public. His expression was vacant, though a sense of urgency slowly developed in the pit of his stomach as Gai's heavy, growling breath splashed over his face. Gai's teeth were bared in his sudden rush of anger.

"Get…Out…" the green beast growled deep in his throat, his voice inhuman, sounding almost as if the man was possessed by some other being. Kakashi's eyes squinted, his grip on the kunai loosening even more, allowing Gai to whip it from his reach and release it from his hand, the small blade and globs of his own blood flying to the opposite corner of the room.

Christabella blinked some, her smirk fading as emergence flooded her being, watching as Gai's skin began to change color. Her eyes widened as small crimson splotches on Gai's skin slowly appeared and pulsated about his form.

Gai thrust his hand to Kakashi's neck, latching on just as Kakashi had done before. Gai put in effort, closing Kakashi's windpipe in a matter of seconds, causing the silver haired ninja to widen his eyes in sudden realization and panic, his mouth opening and begging for air. No sound came from Kakashi's throat, his air supply completely cut off by Gai's death grip.

"Oh no…" Christabella whispered quietly, watching as Gai's eyes twitched under the throbbing pain that accompanied the spots all over his body, "It's happening too fast…"

_What do I do? What do I do!?_

Kakashi's eyes rolled to the back of his head, his hands clasping about Gai's bony wrist. He was certainly no match for the other ninja, in terms of strength especially, and his thin brows curled upward as he desperately clawed at Gai's skin. The green beast was pushing him backwards, shoving him down onto his back and holding him down on the mattress. Gai watched him squirm and writhe with an infuriated amusement, though his expression was still that of an angry god.

"Looks like…the tables…have turned…Kakashi…" he hissed, pressing down all his weight on Kakashi's neck. Painful growls escaped Gai's throat as the splotches on his body began to pulsate at a more rapid rate, flinches interrupting his angry stare at Kakashi's paling face.

Kakashi's mind felt fuzzy, swimming in a sea that separated consciousness from unconsciousness. The weight of Gai on his neck was more than he could handle and his muscles were burning furiously from the effort he was already putting in just to try to get the man to stop choking him. _He's trying to kill me…_

Christabella jumped forward, waving her arms and dropping her teddy bear, "That's enough! Stop that! You big dumbass oaf! Listen to me!!" Growling in frustration, she trotted over to them and grabbed Kakashi's face, digging her nails into the skin as she yanked him out from Gai's grasp, her other hand thrusting up to the green beast's forehead, flicking him between the eyes with her index finger and knocking him back.

Kakashi had toppled to the floor, limp with unconsciousness and in a breathless heap. Gai was on his back, the pulsating patterns on his skin slowly dissipating and disappearing altogether. He breathed hard, exhausted and weak from the pain he had just undergone.

"Get up," Christabella said quickly, walking over to Gai's dresser and violently pulling a drawer open before reaching in and grabbing a pair of sweatpants. She tossed it at him, "Get dressed and get that damn injury treated. I wouldn't have let that moron kill you, but no you had to show you got guts and injure yourself to keep yourself from dying. Don't do that again, stupid ass." Huffing, she left the room, grumbling angrily to herself.

Gai's eyes were closed, small beads of sweat forming on his forehead and gently sliding down the sides of his face. Carefully, he sat up, grabbing the sweatpants with one hand and propping himself up with the other. Blood stained his bed sheets as he sat there for a moment, only noticing the wound in his hand once the pain became known to him. Leaping up and tossing the pants to the floor, he fled to the bathroom, letting out small cries of terror and confusion from his gaping mouth.

Gently, he wrapped his wounded hand up in bandages, which he extracted from his medicine cabinet. He breathed heavily as he struggled to calm himself, wrestling to quell the panic rising in his chest. Once he had cleaned himself and bandaged himself securely, he inched out of the bathroom and crept to his sweatpants on the floor.

After slowly slipping them on, he looked to Kakashi's body, still and breathless. Although he felt guilty for probably putting the other man at death's door, he felt justified considering Kakashi had tried to kill him first. Despite this, he wanted to help him. He eased towards Kakashi's limp form and got down to his knees, gently grabbing onto the other's shoulders just as he heard Christabella's voice ring harshly in the air.

"Forget about him. He almost tried to fucking kill you. Get your goddamn hand healed," she growled from the other room. Gai's head twisted as he looked to her general direction, his hands slowly leaving Kakashi's body. Standing, he stalked to his closet, sliding the door open before grabbing a tank top and slipping it on over him. Carefully, he held his wrapped hand under the opposite arm as he walked through the house towards the front door.

Christabella watched him from the living room with darkly narrowed eyes, her small arms folded across her chest. She leaned her weight on her left leg and cocked her head, watching him as he opened the door to leave, "Take your time." Gai looked back at her, exhaustion in his eyes, "Okay…" Christabella narrowed her eyes to the man's sudden physical and mental weakness.

She was quick to shove it off, however, as he left. Pivoting on her left foot, she turned to the direction of Gai's room, her arms falling to her sides. She thought of Kakashi, wondering just how big of a threat he could be. He had the potential to kill Gai easily in the state he's in and killing the man off while he was down and out didn't sound like a bad idea.

However, Gai's emotions presented to her a roadblock. Although she didn't particularly care how he felt about eliminating the silver-haired ninja, his reaction to the death of his 'friend' was another matter. Him weeping all over her in a mourning fit wasn't something she wanted—or needed. She crept into Gai's bedroom, poking her head carefully about as she tiptoed over the carpet.

She blinked as she looked around, tensing up as her eyes widened with a sudden realization. Her frustration grew and she gritted her teeth, grinding them in fury. She galloped around the room, clenching her fists before growling and howling to the ceiling, "He's GONE!" She whipped her head around, her long black hair flowing about her shoulders and the back of her white dress.

"How the hell did he leave? That oaf choked him to death! He couldn't have recovered so damn quickly! Argh! Damn it!" She howled as she kicked at the base of the dresser in front of the bed. She walked around, looking into Gai's bathroom before going and sitting on the edge of the bed, huffing, "I can't believe he got away… How the hell could he leave so damn fast? Unless… There's someone else…"

"You're going too far, Christabella…" piped a small, womanly voice from within the kitchen. Christabella's large eyes popped up and she lifted her head. Narrowing her dark brows, she called out, "Who's there? Who the hell are you and why are you in this house?" A woman emerged into the room from the kitchen, her eyes half-lidded as if with emotional age and exhaustion.

"Anna?" Christabella scoffed as she slid off the side of the bed, "What the fuck are you doing here? Are you the one responsible for all of this? Answer me, you twat!"

Anna looked at Christabella with a slight expression of concern, "You're being too harsh… I hid the silver-haired man so that you wouldn't hurt him…" Christabella's eyes widened, "You WHAT!?" Growling, Christabella clenched her fists, hard enough to the point where her knuckles whitened, "I can't believe you! What the fuck, Anna!? Aren't you on MY side!?"

Anna narrowed her eyes and spoke softly, "I take no sides… I only wish to protect these victims of malice…" Christabella stopped herself from shouting, her hands going to her neck as she tried to calm herself, "Malice? This is all about malice, now? What about God, Anna? If our plan is screwed up, then it's YOUR fault!"

Sighing deeply, Anna nodded, "I know, Christabella, I know… I won't screw this up…" Christabella mimicked Anna's exhalation, "Where will you be keeping Mr. Scarecrow?" Anna shrugged, "My home, I suppose… I must dispel the White Claudia… It's confusing him…"

"Fucking shit…" Christabella hissed, "They used it?" Anna nodded slowly as Christabella began to pace about the room. Christabella stopped, letting out a howl of annoyance, "They're doing all they can to fuck this up! And they're SUCCEEDING!"

Anna nodded slowly, gently sighing.

Christabella held her small hands to her face, "The fool is over at the hospital getting his hand fixed. Scarecrow stabbed him. He should be back later."

Anna's eyes widened, "What if they…?"

"They won't. Just stop worrying for God's sake."

"That's not funny, Christabella…"

"Hmph."

* * *

"I don't know how you really obtained such an injury Gai, but your little 'I fell' story isn't cutting it," Tsunade said quietly as she looked over Gai's palm, freshly cleaned and bandaged after a long and tedious surgery. Gai was still a bit out of it from the anesthetic. He didn't quite expect to be gone for as long as he was. Christabella was going to be quite upset with him once he came back. 

"I'm sorry…" he said in a soft, groggy voice. Tsunade didn't look up as she set his hand down, "Don't be sorry. Just think up more creative stories for me when you come in with such an extensive injury. Now rest. I'm not letting you go home yet."

Gai watched with half-lidded eyes as Tsunade left the room, leaving him in the hospital bed with nothing but the whiteness around him. He laid his head back on the pillow, dark ebony orbs staring up at the ceiling. Resting wasn't something he wanted to do at this point despite how his body longed for it. Being bed-ridden drove him crazy and the boredom of simply laying there all day didn't help make things any better.

He let out a soft groan as he tilted his head back against the pillow, his hand throbbing. Carefully, he pulled the blankets up over his shoulders and relaxed, hoping that maybe sleeping for a few days will help him recover. Perhaps, when he wakes up, Lee will be at his side and explain to him that it was all just a bad dream.

* * *

**End of Chapter 8**


	10. Born Dead

_Chapter 9_**  
Born Dead  
**

* * *

Gai felt cold and wet, a morning mist enveloping around him as he awoke from a sleep that which he had pursued while being confined to the hospital bed at the Konoha infirmary. The atmosphere around him was different, as well as his resting space; cold, hard and damp, rough in texture and moist to the touch.

His head spun and throbbed with confusion as he lifted himself, his injured hand still wrapped up in medical tape. Everything was silent saved for the low hum of the still wind, a thick fog keeping the area in place while the earth moved at an exhilarating speed.

He was on his stomach, face resting against the cold damp concrete, and clad in the outfit he wore to the hospital. His hand was wrapped up tightly in bandages that he had used in his bathroom. His palm ached with an agonizing throb, the pain shooting through his arm, shoulder and neck.

His mind was fuzzy and his thoughts were blurred, derailed at even the slightest distraction. It was all he could do to manage himself up in a sitting position, his eyes blinded by fuzz and dizziness, the static clearing up to present the view of a foggy alleyway before him. He looked around with a sleepily confused look on his face, an expression given by those who were asked questions that had no sense to them. Though he longed to make sense of the situation he was in, a nagging voice at the back of his head said it was all too much too fast.

He stood, weary and dazed, though his vision was beginning to focus and information of the surrounding area in which he was in was beginning to process in his brain. He took his first wobbly steps, his balance coming slowly but surely as he leaned against the brick walls of the buildings between which he was stationed. Once he emerged from the alley, he looked around, his eyes widened with bewilderment and disbelief.

A silent wind that lifted no weight blew against his face, pale and distorted with a rising panic. Gaining more of himself every second, he rushed out into the empty street, motionless and mundane yet sinister and mocking in a subtle way. His breathing increased, his chest tightening and his lungs straining. His pupils decreased in size as realization slowly crept up his spine and paralyzed him.

_This is…_

Remnants of memories flooded his mind, the view of the fog-flooded courts between two barricading planks of wood nailed to a window of the school room presenting itself to his mind's eye. Although he wasn't in the courts, he was indeed in the same general region. It was as that which he had always feared. His past was returning to haunt him.

"So you've finally arrived, I see," echoed a smooth voice behind him. He jumped, crying out in the event of being startled. He quickly turned, facing the silhouette of a woman, full grown and nearly his height with the help of high-heeled shoes. She wore a dark grey cloak, the hood up over her head and slightly obscuring her face, "I've been expecting you for quite some time now."

One eye was hidden behind a vast curtain of golden hair with the help of part of the obscuring hood, the other staring at him—though rather gently—with an icy grey iris. Her skin was paled though colored and contained a notable freckle here and there. She was remarkably beautiful, though Gai wasn't truly concerned with that right now.

He struggled to suppress his already-risen panic, telling himself that perhaps his second visit won't be as bad as his first. He was not the only person here, which somewhat relieved him. He was, however, skeptical, unsure and confused by her words. She had been expecting him, though before he had never seen her. In order to expect someone, an acquaintance must be made beforehand, right? Not necessarily, but no questions of his identity have been thrown out, which was just as irritating.

"Expecting me?" He dumbly repeated.

The woman smiled and lifted her chin, "Of course." She took a step forward, causing Gai to take a step back, still unsure and terrified from the sudden realization of his current situation. She blinked and stopped, smiling still, "Pardon me; allow me to introduce myself."

He stared at her with aggravation, his skin dampened by the fog combined with sweat. If there was anything unusual that he took note of, it was the observation of the fog clearing away from her and accumulating around him.

She bowed slightly, "My name is Deborah. Deborah Wolf."

"Gai," he forced out, normally cheery and loud with introductions, though this was an obvious exception.

Deborah chuckled, tilting her head back slightly to the clouded sky, "No need for you to say anything; I already know who _you_ are." Gai frowned, catching the condescending tone in her voice as she spoke. She then looked back at him, looking straight into his eyes, digging violently into his dark irises, "And… I know who _you_ are, as well…"

"What do you want with me? Why did you drag me here?" He snapped, shocking her somewhat. She looked at him, bewildered and somewhat appalled at the rise in his voice. She then smiled gently, bringing her pale hands together, "For a very good and just reason."

"I don't believe you."

"I'm not asking you to believe me."

"Why am I here?"

"Why… to bring forth Paradise!"

"Bring… what…?" Gai's eyes widened, his ears straining against the silent wind. Deborah's eyes widened with excitement, "You have been chosen to bring forth Paradise! To bring forth happiness and cleansing! It is you… who will save us all..."

"Save us all? Who's us?" Gai cried out, anger exploding in his voice.

"Those who came to witness the beginning. They've all come here, here to Silent Hill… to witness it! The grand birthing! The rebirth of paradise… Despoiled by mankind," She said quietly, staring at him with unblinking eyes.

Gai slumped with sorrow, angry and frustrated to the point of tears, "Why me…?"

Deborah turned, her cloak swaying with her movements. She had her back to him, "Remember me… and your true self as well." She then went silent as she walked away, into the thickness of the fog, leaving Gai questioning her words and bewildered, angry and frustrated.

"Wait! No, wait! Don't leave!" Gai shouted after her as she left him there, "Please!"

He sprinted after her as she disappeared into the fog, skidding to a stop as it became too thick for him to see in a matter of seconds. He whimpered, "Don't leave me here…"

He shivered a bit, looking around slowly, the low hum of nothingness ringing in his ears like a tortured moan as it traveled through the sky. He turned from the direction that the woman who named herself Deborah had left and started walking, the fog gradually clearing and revealing the deserted scenery surrounding him. The town, just as he previously remembered, was a ghost town, though it seemed to have been lively once upon a time.

_"Sensei…"_

Gai's ears perked, his eyes widening, crazed yet unwavering from what could be the source of the sound.

_"Sensei…"_

He didn't have to think about whose voice it was. Although his sanity repeated over and over that his beloved student had been dead for nearly three years or so, he could never tear himself away from his own delusions and hallucinations, those of which that gave image to the younger boy's apparitional doppelganger.

_"__Sen__…__sei__..."_

The voice he knew so well became warped, deepening in pitch and becoming gurgled, rough and sickly. The words that it spoke weren't words anymore, but hasty growls and snarls, accompanied by loud chokes and snorts. The sounds became louder, coming up from behind. He turned his head, his face pale and void of any sane expression that wasn't fearful. Something was coming, a quadruped of sorts, limping with each stride it took as it tore after him.

His eyes were as wide as they could possibly be. He had pivoted towards it, freezing with human fear as his attacker neared him clumsily. Its body was ripped and broken, bandaged up where it didn't seem to have been infected. Its face was stretched and pulled back over its skull, showing only a network of small teeth and a split tongue, each bloody half hanging out of either side of its open mouth as it ran.

His heart raced as his mind screamed for him to flee. He turned in his place, his eyes wide and mouth calmly shut. His pupils seemed to wander slowly into different directions as he moved, with a portrayal of 'I'm doomed' written in them.

His legs ripped through the fog, his shoed feet padding the concrete as he messily ran, legs outstretching and arms swinging like pendulums of alloy. He ran down the streets, turning random corners in hopes of losing the animal's trail. His attempts to deter it, however, were futile as it kept at his heels with vigorous effort.

He ran to a building, never minding what it was, as long as the door was unlocked. He skittered up the porch, a concrete space just before an ornate wooden door covered in dust with a broken window up at the top. He shook the door knob before opening the door, forcing it wide open before throwing himself inside and slamming it behind him.

Inside it was dark, cold and soundless.

Inside it was dark… So terribly dark…

* * *

End of Chapter 9. 


	11. Room 302

_Chapter 10_  
**Room 3****0****2  
**

* * *

Gai held his back against the door, the carved decorations of the wooden slab leaving slight imprints on the skin of his back through his clothes. He pressed his hands together, palm on palm, fingertip on fingertip, and closed his eyes. He concentrated, his heart pumping harder than usual and causing a dull throbbing ache in his chest. His breathing was slowly quickening, the mere knowledge of not being able to see his own nose before his face becoming unnerving to him. 

He struggled, his head beginning to ache with effort. His chakra network felt empty, exhausted. He prayed silently, his eyes squeezing tightly shut, _Please let this be a Genjutsu… if not a dream…_ He opened his eyes, his vision slowly adjusting to the darkness, which persisted. His attempt to break whatever Genjutsu held him failed. _Why won't I wake up…? Please let this be a dream… please let this be a dream… please let this be a dream…!_

He raised a hand to his mouth, biting down hard and breaking the skin of the pad of his thumb, closing his eyes as he did before reopening them in hopes of waking up from the pain. Blood trickled down the bony appendage and dripped onto the dark dirt-smudged carpet beneath him.

_This… isn't a dream…_

While feeling helpless, he felt a slight uplift of the fearful burden on his shoulders, the dark room in which he stood now slightly illuminated by the adjustment of his lens and retinas. The room within which he was in was a lobby of some sort, a apartment, simple and plain in its interior design. The front desk was dirty and dusty, laden with keys to rooms and mail cubbies.

The few windows scattered about the lobby were boarded up, the planks crooked and the hammer-work of the nails messy and frantic. The floors were no less chaotic as he moved a bit from the door, broken pieces of glass cracking under his shoes. He eyed the walls, the wallpaper that decorated them torn and worn due to age and abuse. Near the lobby desk was a flight of stairs leading up to first, second and third floors. They seemed foreboding in appearance, rusted railings with support beams slightly bent and rickety, and the wooden planks that served as the steps chipped and moldy with age, some bent and dipping, others broken in half or even missing.

He edged forward, holding out his arms to feel for unseen objects and structures that would support him should be stumble. His steps were feather-light, fearing of someone—or something—hearing him. His left hand brushed the edge of the wasted desk, knocking over a plastic device onto the floor, the loud clacking sound causing him to jump and blurt out in his surprise, "Shit!"

Shocked to his outburst despite the circumstances, Gai shot a hand up to cover his lips, dark orbs wandering down shakily to the plastic object that clattered to the floor. It had broken, or so it seemed, but only into two or three pieces. With his slightly blurred vision locked on the object, he crouched down, taking the pieces and standing up, placing them on the flat, dirty surface of the desk. One small cylindrical object, he decided in his mild confusion, was a battery. He slipped it inside the largest item and put the second smaller piece over, fitting it like a cap. He searched it the object for a button, and pressed the small circular toggle.

The small plastic device activated silently, a large beam of light emitting from the outermost part, a lens held by a circular ring. "It's… so strangely shaped…" Gai whispered as he looked it over, "At least it works…" He looked towards the stares, aiming the flashlight over the worn wall before the railing and the tortured steps. He eased forward, wheezing lightly, "Nowhere to go… but forward…"

He ascended the stairs, trying to ignore the ominous creaks and moans of the wooden planks as they temporarily bore his weight. He climbed up to the third floor, the first two floors of the building blocked off by a large mountain of broken crates or the absence of support and connectivity between floor and staircase. Even from this point he heard nothing, saved for the light sound of running water coming from deep within the hallway. Reluctantly he pressed forward, eyeing each door he crept passed, the locks either being secure or broken.

The sound of lightly running water became louder as he descended further into the hallway, barely illuminated by the small flashlight he held in his bony hands. Its volume reached its limited maximum as he reached the room from which he suspected the sound was emitted. He looked over the door, the orangey maroon painted chipped and worn away. He eyed the number the room was assigned: 302.

He reached with a free hand to the doorknob and froze as his palm and fingers rested and wrapped about it. He felt a strange aura around the door and he was sure it would intensify further in. Regardless, he rotated the knob and eased the door open, the tall slab whining and crying out as it slowly swung inward. He entered, shining the light around the room.

It was indeed a mess, but not mutilated to the point where he couldn't tell what exactly it was before the incident that caused it to become as brutalized as it was now. He stepped further in, debris hindering his movement. He could only deduce that there had been a struggle—and a violent one at that. The running water was getting louder and louder by the second and a horrible stench filled his nostrils.

His eyes widened and his nostrils flared, his hands dropping the flashlight as they went up to his face and neck, one clutching at his nose and mouth, his lips agape, and his other hand going to tug at the collar of his shirt. He choked and gagged, the abominable smell making its presence known to the entirety of his being. He fell to his knees, clutching at himself.

He held his nose after his body had its fit, his eyes glazed over and seeming glassy as they darted around for the source of the smell. It came from the area of the room that would serve as a small kitchen. The refrigerator was slightly tilted backwards against the wall, its door gaping open. He gathered himself up, as well as the flashlight, before inching towards the kitchen and the suspected source of the awful stench.

Carefully stepping over rubble, he entered the kitchen, peering passed the jutting refrigerator door. His eyes widened at the sight of flesh—human flesh—violently shoved and compressed, bloodied contents and matter coating the surrounding infrastructures as well as the inner contents that which it held for an extended period of time. Long pale legs hung idly from the ascending mesh shelves, sluggish against the tight compression that which the torso endured.

Gai's eyes rolled to the back of his head, rearing his torso up and away from the mutilation with a hand held tightly over is mouth. He turned away, clutching the flashlight tightly in his free hand, his arm held about his stomach. He was bent forward, feeling as if he were to keel over at any minute. He headed towards the door, opening his eyes just enough to see it slam shut before him, followed by a loud clack. His heart sank and he dropped the flashlight, rushing to the door with his arms outstretched, bony fingers wrapping desperately about the rusted knob. "No!" he cried softly, his voice cracked and unstable. _This can't be happening…_

His arms burned as he struggled to turn the knob. Letting out a choked sob to his apparent failure, he rammed his shoulder into the wooden door. _Damn it… I can usually break down these goddamn things… What's happened to me…?_ He cried against his own physical weakness, feeling like a hopeless skeleton, anorexic, ready for his grave.

He pushed himself away from the door, reaching down to pick up his flashlight. He pointed it towards the kitchen. He grimaced, tears welling up in his eyes, "I… I can't… I have to… I'll… I'll go crazy…" He set down the flashlight on the floor, not taking his eyes off the door of the refrigerator. A sickened aura washed over him and his stomach churned, unsure if he was really going to do as he planned. His eyes darted up; a bathroom barely visible passed the kitchen. He nodded inwardly to himself before inching closer to the body.

He stood before it, staring with half-lidded eyes. "It's… not going to move itself… come on, now… It's… just a corpse…" He crouched low, reaching hesitating hands for the gray ankles. He flinched as he grabbed onto the cold, clammy joints, "Oh my god…" He choked, the feel of dead skin making him nauseous. _Just pull it out… You can do it… It's just a corpse…_

He tugged at the legs, the smashed torso showing resistance, followed by a fleshy sound as it started to loosen up. Old blood dripped from open lacerations, dribbling down the sides and shelves from within the furnishing. Gai turned his head away, "Just drop already…" He pulled and tugged as hard as he could without tipping over the refrigerator, the body sliding out and onto the floor. By this time, the innermost contents had spilled about the floor, causing Gai to choke and drop the ankles of the corpse and cover his face with the backsides of his hands. His heart raced, pounding against his sternum.

He gagged, wanting to quit right then and there as the deafening sounds of ripping dry flesh followed by loud splashes of blood and content played over and over in his mind. He violently shook his head, grabbing tightly onto the dead ankles and dragging the messy thing across the kitchen floor into the bathroom. He pulled it into the bathtub, his eyes rolling back as his throat exploded with the sensation of acidic stinging, fluid making its way up his esophagus. He leapt out of the bathtub and collapsed to his knees, his hands planting themselves next to the trail of blood from the kitchen. He released stomach fluid from his mouth, his tongue and lips burning just as his throat did. He coughed and gagged, one hand reaching up to his mouth just as he regurgitated once more.

Weakened by his sickened stomach, he pulled himself out of the bathroom, avoiding as much of the bloody trail as humanly possible. Once he was a good distance away from the kitchen, he collapsed, resting and breathing deeply, his face glistening with a thin layer of cold sweat. _You did it… you fool. _He smiled faintly, though it quickly vanished. He got to his knees and hands and carefully eased himself up. Grabbing the flashlight, he pointed it around in various directions. In one damaged corner, he found a lamp on the floor, vase shattered but the bulb still intact. He walked towards the lamp on the floor, its gold-colored plastic cord disconnected from a nearby outlet. He put the flashlight in his shirt pocket, allowing him to freely remove debris of chairs and tables out of the way. The side table that may have held up the lamp in support was still upright, though stains of blood painted it an ominous hue. He gingerly picked up the lamp and sat it on the table. Reaching for the cord, he then plugged it in, yelping only a second later as sparks burst from the outlet and light beamed from the bulb of the lamp. The room was illuminated and Gai could only feel a tiny bit less anxious.

From that point on, he worked to reconstructing the room. He set up chairs and tables that still had all four legs that were sturdy, making the room seem like a room again. Once the surrounding area was a bit tidier than it once was, he looked around, trying to spot anything that would serve as a clue to an escape route. He poked at the walls, knocked on corners, nooks and crannies, and even tried to bust open the shuttered windows, end result leaving him shuddering with painful, swelling knuckles, elbows and shoulders. Never before had he ever felt so helpless and weak.

He cursed, setting down his flashlight on the widest of the few tables. He placed his palms upon the sharp, splintered surface, ignoring the pricks and points that poked his skin. He let his head hang hopelessly. _Am I going to be locked in here forever? How long… Am I… going to die here? Oh my god… Christabella… I can't believe I'm saying this, but… Oh I wish you were here… I don't want to be alone with this… corpse!_

He sniffled lightly before lifting his head, his eye catching a bookshelf. His hopelessness died away almost instantly as ideas poured through his head. Walking closer to the bookshelf, he analyzed it, looking over titles, faded and smudged alike. _Maybe if I pull out the right book… it will be like in the movies…_ He reached for a book, a diary of sorts to be exact, and slowly extracted it from the creaking shelf. Nothing happened with the case itself, but the title intrigued him to a certain extent. Although the print was faded, Gai could make out the gist of the title. It was carved into the cover of the book with a black ink pen and it read: _The Su__l__livan Tome_.

The single word Sullivan struck him as familiar, though unbeknownst to him was the reason. He glanced back at the shut bathroom door, wondering if the corpse was the same man who wrote this diary. The book was packed, small little pages and slips of paper cut out from other works as well as from articles of newspaper and magazine sticking out from between individual pages. As a few fell out, he set the book on the table and grabbed a chair, sitting in it carefully, hoping that it wouldn't give out any moment. He reached down and picked up the slips of paper, looking them over before he set them individually before him just above the diary itself.

He opened the cover, glancing over the piece of newspaper article that first presented itself to his eye. Its headline read: **Su****l****livan Murder Victim # 10 found**. _Murder victim?_ He removed the slip and looked upon the first page, scribbled in with ink.

_'__Victim #10 already found. This one was just the average Joe with a slight road rage problem. He worked as a bartender at the local pub though I didn't know him too well. The shots were gruesome… bullet right to the face. I hope this guy gets caught soon. I hope I'm not on his list. If I am, I'll kill myself first. Good idea, yes.__'_

Gai stared blankly as he read word salads from that point on. He turned the page, two little slips of magazine and newspaper articles sliding out onto the table. One slip contained a large headline: **Priest of Christian sect murdered.** The other contained a picture of the man who was the victim. His eyes darted to the scribbled writing.

_'__The first victim, Jimmy Stone.__ Not a very nice guy. I heard he was nicknamed "The Red Devil". Found in that Wish House place. I hope the police investigate Wish House… I heard that children were being __abused and molested there. Jimmy Stone was the Priest of the __Valtiel__ sect. I wonder if that was why he was killed? __Most likely.__ Who is __Valtiel__ anyway? Probably has something to do with Wish House. __Could be a connection.__'_

"Valtiel sect?" Gai read aloud. He knew this name, though where from he was unaware. _Valtiel__…_ he silently went over, _the one closest to God. __Wait, w__hat? How do I know that…?_ He looked up from the book before flipping through it some more.

After an hour or so of reading, examining and thinking, he finally whispered aloud to himself, "None of this trash makes any sense. Nineteen victims found with strange numbers carved into their bodies. All were killed with different types of weapons and methods but they were all by the same person. This isn't exactly a serial killer… It seems more like… a ritual of some sort… He killed them at the spot by any available means necessary… his motives are unclear and this goddamn book doesn't help." He stood, exasperated.

Walking over to the bookshelf, he looked through titles in the area in which he found the diary. "Why would anyone want to kill nineteen people? The numbers… they're suspicious. I wonder if this lunatic has anything on the murderer himself…" Spying a notebook, metal binding smashed and bent, Gai reached up and slid it out from its space. He flipped through it before stopping on a page that immediately caught his eye.

_"Conducted research on Walter Sullivan.__ It appears that Sullivan was an orphan at Wish House. He was born in room 302 of __Ashfield__ Heights, but his mother and father left him there. He was picked up and brought to Wish House, where he was taught of cultic faiths and beliefs. Somewhere along the line, Walter started to wonder where he came from. The cultists told him of his origin and from their words he began to believe that Room 302 was in fact his mother. The cultists provided him with a ritual in which he can wake her up and go home to her. Thus began the Sullivan murder cases."_

"The room his mother…?" Gai whispered lightly. He jumped and dropped the notepad onto the floor upon hearing a loud, insidious knocking on the door. It rapped and became a violent pounding. He neared the door, the pounding growing softer with each step he took. He stopped in front of the door and hesitated, reluctant to look through the tiny peephole only to see a pale, maimed face of a man staring right back at him with direct eye contact, the corners of his mouth pulled back to his ears, producing a ghastly grin.

Gai didn't think anything of it, much to his own surprise and slowly he backed away. It was a delayed reaction, the creeping feeling of dread that soon came to crawl over his chest and freeze his lungs. He sat upon the table, not taking his eyes off the peephole. "I have to get out of here…" he whispered.

"You will, my friend," came an auspicious voice from behind him, "you will." Gai jumped and turned to face the speaking figure behind him, his heart racing at a dangerous pace. It was the same man's face he saw through the peephole, though he has seen enough quick movements to not exactly be totally shocked by the man's sudden transportation without Gai's notice. The man was dead, yet standing, a massive wound gracing the middle of his chest. He had a calm, yet exhausted look about his face, his straggly hair hanging at shoulder's length. His skin was beginning to decompose, or so it looked, yet no odor assaulted Gai's nostrils, even as close as the man was to him.

Gai stood silent, still taking in the image he saw before him. The man chuckled lightly, "Aren't you going to ask who I am?" Gai shook his head, gathering his thoughts before uttering, "I think I already know who you are." The man paused, perplexed. Gai slowly began backing away from him, "How are you still here?" It was a stuttering demand, pathetic in tone. "The ritual is over. You failed."

The man's eyebrows curled upward slightly, "Not true. Though I was unable to complete the ritual itself, Mother showed herself to me. It was gallant! But then…" his tone changed, "That… that man… Just had to go and… mess things up… I tried so hard to kill him. But every time, he slipped from my grasp… It's true, I failed to awaken her completely, I still like to think that the ritual continues."

Gai whispered under his breath, "You are him… Walter Sullivan…"

Walter shrugged, "You're right." He walked towards the other man, his sunken face contorting to form a tired grin. "I should give you a prize for being so intellectual. Now… what should I give you?" He stopped five feet in front of Gai, looking down at his feet, one arm behind his back, the other holding his chin. Gai tensed with uncertainty, his back against the wall next to the door.

Walter jerked his head up, an arm shooting up to meet with Gai's neck, fingers wrapping like metal cords underneath his jaw line, "I know now! I'll… give you to Mother! I bet she'll like that." Lifting Gai off his feet, Walter relished the reactions drawn out from the other man. Low, choking sounds filled the room and Walter indeed felt the struggling effort of Gai's neck muscles and Adam's apple underneath against his palm.

"I may not have enjoyed killing those people," he said, his hidden arm drawing out a chef's knife, clean and glinting in the minimal light that barely illuminated the room, "But I guess I would like to think of this as 'just like old times,' you know?" Gai eyed the knife with wide terrified eyes, his hands reaching up to Walter's wrist, gripping and scratching at the dead skin. _This man… he… isn't human…!_

Walter proceeded to hoist Gai further up in the air with his back pressed against the wall. Gai struggled and kicked, doing all he could to suck air into his lungs. "Perhaps with Remorse, she'll wake up for good this time. What do you think?"

Gai struggled, closing his eyes tightly as he forced out, "Your…mother was…never here… She… abandoned you… The… the order was just… brainwashing you…Walter…!" Walter's grip on Gai's neck tightened, "I don't trust your words. Your lies only give a sliver more reason to kill you."

"You trust the Order then?" piped up a hasty voice, "You're even a bigger fool than I imagined. But I guess I can't really blame you, having been practically forced to believe their shit."

Gai's effort to try and breathe through the vice grip was slowly deteriorating, his legs going limp underneath him. Walter turned his head to look over his shoulder, spotting the little girl in her white dress, teddy bear held in one arm, the other perched and locked with her tiny hand on her hip. "I suggest you let mister Bowl-Haircut go, Walter, before things start to get fucking ugly," she said.

Gai could barely hear the child's voice, though from what he could make of it, he was relieved. Enraged, Walter thrust Gai into the bookcase, knocking it down with books plummeting in a heap over his shaking body. Christabella's dark eyes glanced over to the bookshelf, fury welling up in her chest, "If his head is smashed underneath that case… then I'm going to fucking kill you."

Gai's eyes searched through the books that covered him, as well as the heavy bookcase. His arms trembled as he struggled to relieve his body of the weight, but his limbs collapsed as his eyes fluttered closed.

* * *

**End of Chapter 10**


	12. True

_Chapter 11_**  
True  
**

* * *

_"I can't…see anything…"__"What is this… on my back…? It's…"_

_"…so heavy…"_

_"My head…"_

_"…My stomach… it hurts…"_

_"My eyes…! They're… they're…"_

_"…burning!"  
_

* * *

Anna watched the silver-haired man rustle before her with a start, her face void of any emotion and her hands clasped in her lap. She sat firmly in an oak chair, the twitching body before her upon a war-army cot with a thin, ragged blanket draped over him. His face was exposed to a dreary ceiling, the room in which the two resided being a small one, the walls dull and wallpaper aged and worn. The man sat up on the cot, groaning painfully, his hands going up to his neck to cradle his abused windpipe.

Anna studied him, the silver-haired man with eyes of a different color. He ran his hands over his shoulders and grunted with soreness. His eyes were tightly closed, signifying his discomfort.

"Are you alright?" she asked quietly. He raised his head, piercing her eyes with his own discolored. He stared at her speechless before slowly sliding a hand over his nose, mouth and chin. There was no mask, though he hadn't the energy to panic. After the rising of his stomach ceased, he saw no reason to panic. Not only was she not an enemy, but she had already seen his face while he was unconscious.

"I don't know…" Kakashi groaned as he looked down from Anna's face to the wooden floor, "Am I dead…?" Anna looked down as well, feeling almost guilty, "No… You're safe and well." He lifted his head up once more and looked about him, absorbing the trite scenery in which he resided.

"Where is this?" he asked.

"Nowhere in particular… You're in a place that was once considered sacred…" she smiled lightly at him, "I hold fond memories here…"

Kakashi slouched forward, resting his elbows against his knees, bent with his feet flat on the floor, "Sacred, huh?"

"Yes, indeed… It was… but now…" her voice drooped and her eyes became sad as she looked away from him, "Now… it is a no-man's land…" Kakashi looked her over, "What happened? How did it go from being sacred to damned?"

Kakashi in all honesty wasn't surprised. The only thing that he considered sacred was the ability to hold value in human life, and not a whole lot of people possessed this ability.

"Something… terrible happened…" she said quietly, "Something I never wanted to be apart of…" Her voice began to shake and quiver. Kakashi watched her somewhat without sympathy, "It was terrible to the extent that it made people desert the place?"

Anna shook her head slowly, "No… they did not leave… but were consumed by…" Kakashi blinked. He had heard everything from people being swallowed up by vicious sand-ninja sinkhole traps to being eaten alive by summoned beasts, but never engulfed by a mere town. "What exactly… do you mean?"

"This place… was sacred," she began, "Upheld dearly by ancestors as far back as time can remember. Native Americans roamed this land and cherished it. It was holy to them indeed, and was holy to us when we settled here. In fact… the land held… a strange power… it drew people near and even played tricks on the mind…"

Kakashi arched a brow, "What?"

"It's true…! I've had it happen to myself! Whenever people come here… they…"

"But it can't be just the town. A simple town built by settlers can't just—"

"It's true, I tell you! Do you think I am mad? Have you not had a strange experience with this town?"

"No I haven't… but… that's not the point… Just go on."

"A.. Alright… I apologize…"

"It's fine." _Come to think of it… That dream I had with that monster in it… the streets I ran seem… similar to the streets here… Could this be the same place…? No, that's preposterous. _

_"_This town was… mainly Christian… but at the center was a group, a group of people of different religious order. That's, actually, what they called themselves, _The Order_. I was somewhat apart of it… It's a religious group divided up into several sects, but I only know of a few of them… At first glance, you would think them to be a different branch of Christianity… It works the same way, if you think about it; monotheistic, some form of prophet, angels… and demons… a Heaven… and a Hell…

"These people hated Christians… Strange things began to happen… One by one, people began to disappear… mostly officials… the Mayor, authorities, all kinds of political figures. And after that… Members of The Order began to drive out Christians… and kill those that resisted."

"Wait… So you mean nobody tried to stop them?"

"People began to leave once the political officials began… disappearing."

"You mean dying. They were murdered."

"…"

"Did you take part in this?"

"…I…"

"Did you?"

"I had no choice… I didn't… I didn't want to die by their hands…"

"So instead you take the life of someone else to save your own."

"A minor evil—"

"For a greater good? No. That's not how it works. That minor evil destroyed countless other lives."

"I cannot undo what I have done… So… the best I can do… is to stop it from happening again…"

"… Continue."

"I will… The Order worships a being called God… But it's not the regular God anyone could recognize and familiarize with, no… The story goes like this:

_In the beginning, people had nothing. Their bodies ached, and their hearts held nothing but hatred. They fought endlessly, but death never came. They despaired… __stuck in the eternal quagmire._

_A man offered a serpent to the sun, and prayed for salvation. A woman offered a reed to the sun, and asked for joy. Feeling pity for the sadness that had overrun the earth, God was born from those two people._

_God made time and divided it into day and night. God outlined the road to salvation and gave people joy. And God took endless time away from the people._

_God created beings to lead people in obedience to her: the Red God, __Xuchibara__; the Yellow God, __Lobselvief__; many gods and angels._

_Finally, God set out to create a Paradise, where people would be happy just by being there. But there, God's strength ran out and she collapsed. __All the__ world's people grieved this unfortunate event, yet God breathed her last. She returned to dust, promising to come again. So God hasn't been lost. We must offer our prayers and not forget our faith._

_We wait in hope for the day when the path to Paradise will be opened._

This God… is evil…"

Kakashi tilted his head, "Evil? To bring Paradise?"

Anna shook her head, "No… Not paradise…"

"Then what if not as the story says?"

"The Order is lead by a woman named Dahlia… Dahlia Gillespie. I'm certain you have met her once before, have you not? Though she is dead, it would not surprise me if she had contacted you."

"I don't know this Dahlia."

"Dahlia Gillespie had a daughter... Her name was Alessa. Alessa Gillespie. Dahlia was… a very unkind woman… She was hateful and angry… an evil woman… She wanted to conduct an experiment to bring God about this world, using her daughter Alessa… But instead of bringing about God for Paradise… she wanted God for control… to make the people fear her… she wanted to control them with the use of God.

"The way she would go about it… was a ritual… She conducted the ritual on Alessa by setting her on fire… she was covered in severe burns… How she survived, I don't know…"

"Did the ritual work?"

"Yes… but… someone interfered… A man named Travis Grady… The experiment was completed but… It could not proceed. Half of Alessa's soul was gone."

Kakashi was perplexed, "What? How is that possible?"

"Alessa was born with… special powers. She… could do things with her mind. Her classmates called her 'witch' because of it. With the help of Travis Grady, Alessa was able to send out half of her soul…"

Kakashi leaned back on the cot, "Sounds… farfetched… but an interesting story…"

Anna, "It's all true…"

Kakashi almost glared at her with frustration, "That doesn't explain why this town is the way it is."

Anna's face creased with anger. "I'm not finished!" she snapped. Kakashi grew quiet and studied her, waiting for her to continue.

"Alessa's true body resided in the basement of Alchemilla hospital… The ritual would not proceed until the other half of her soul returns and joins to be whole once again. They… drew the other half back by abusing the body of Alessa… The other half returned seven years after…"

Kakashi adjusted on the cot, "How long ago was this?"

Anna had her eyes on the ground, "Around thirty-five years or so… The Order revived about four years ago when they found out Alessa's reincarnation's whereabouts. They tracked her, murdered her adoptive father and drew her in… She was pregnant with God then… and they were trying to lure her out to them to give birth to Her."

"Did they succeed?"

"Yes… but something happened… Something strange… and disturbing… It was not Alessa who gave birth to it… but one of the new High Priestesses. I'm sure she was to die anyway, either by God or by The Order for murdering Father Vincent."

"Father…Vincent?"

"Yes… A hypocrite among other things, but he was aware… He wasn't naïve. I respected him to a certain extent."

"Who was this priestess?"

"Claudia… Claudia Wolf. If I recall correctly, she was friends with Alessa… One of the few friends she ever had throughout the course of her tragic life… Claudia's childhood was no more pleasant than Alessa's… In fact… some woman claiming to be her cousin has recently appeared… I think her name was… Deborah…"

"Deborah Wolf…"

"Yes… Deborah…"

"…"

Anna looked Kakashi in the eyes, her eyes almost glowing in the ashen grey dimness, "For your sake… please stay away from them… They will do all they can to use you to accomplish their evil deeds…"

Kakashi's line of sight was planted on the floor. He kept still, taking in all that Anna had told him. He let his head hang almost, exhaustion and exasperation causing his lungs to ache.

"That still doesn't explain—"

"The town is controlled by her," Anna said quietly.

"By who?"

"…Alessa."

"How…?"

"She… It's… it's her powers… The monsters… were born from her own dreams… fears… nightmares… It's her darkness, her suffering and agony… that makes Silent Hill what it is… She… wants to die…"

Kakashi kept his eyes on the floor, "How is she still alive…?"

"The ritual…"

"Tell me something…"

"Yes…?"

"You said… Alessa was burned for a ritual, right…?"

"Yes."

"What happened when… her soul was split in half…?"

"It formed a newborn baby… found by her adoptive father… Seven years afterwards, they returned to this town… to Silent Hill…The souls were joined… and formed another newborn… this one pregnant with God, just as the original."

"Mother of God…"

"Yes."

"Why… am I here?" Kakashi asked.

Anna's thin brows curled up sadly, "The Order wants to use you… They want to use you in order to help the new carrier of God give birth."

Kakashi's heart skipped a beat, "Who is… this new carrier…?"

Anna's head lowered, her eyes gluing to Kakashi's blue ninja sandals, "It's strange… Normally it would be a woman… but somehow… It became a man… A man whose emotions were so powerful, he was drawn here by accident… He was at the wrong place at the right time…"

"…What happens if he ends up giving birth to this… God…?"

"If he gives birth to God… then…"

Anna's voice choked.

"Well…?"

"…He'll die."

_No…_

_Tsunade stared at him with hard amber eyes, "I mean exactly what I say, Kakashi."_

_Kakashi was perplexed and he had no fear of showing it, "There's no possible way! How can he just suddenly have something living inside him!? Do you even know what it is!?"_

_"No…"_

_"Is it… even human…?" Kakashi's heart sank._

_"I don't know…"_

_Kakashi felt as if he had given up, "Will he die from it…?"_

_"I don't know… We'll just have to wait and see… I've never seen anything quite like this before."_

_Gai… you weren't even chosen to become 'pregnant' with a deity… Is this your destiny? What will become of you? I'm still so confused… Is this all some kind of nightmare…? Is this even real…? What do I do? What can I do?_

_Nothing._

_I'm… so helpless._

"…"

"Are you… alright?"

Anna leaned forward, placing a hand on Kakashi's shoulder. Kakashi's eyes shut tightly, "I have to stop this…"

"It would be wise if you did not get involved—"

"I already am involved…" Kakashi stood from the cot, his muscles tightening and causing his limbs to tremble. His body calmed and he clenched his hands into fists.

"Where will I find this 'Order'?" he asked, almost demanding.

Anna hesitated, but slowly answered, "…You'll find them at the Balkan Church… It's pretty far from here; you'll have to cross Toluca Lake. It's on the north side in old Silent Hill… Right now, we're in Wood Side Apartment… Take the road and head north and turn left onto Nathan Avenue… Take Nathan Avenue all the way up to Sandford Street. Take Sandford Street all the way until you reach an intersection with Bachman Road… On this road, you go straight north until you come up to another intersection with Bloch Street… At the right corner will be the church. It's a long walk from here… Here… take this map. If you get lost, it should be of some help to you…"

Anna got onto her knees and reached down under the cot, pulling out a ragged piece of paper. It was an old map of the Silent Hill region, burned and ripped in some areas but still somewhat legible to the untrained eye. Kakashi gingerly took the ancient map and folded it up, sticking it into one of his chunin vest pockets, "Thank you."

Kakashi turned towards the door in an effort to leave. He was stopped, one of Anna's small hands catching the inward crease of his elbow. He looked back at her over his shoulder, his eyes tired and face exhausted. Anna bit her lip, hesitating for a moment.

"Please… do be careful," she said quietly.

"I will."

* * *

**End of Chapter 11**


	13. Hunger

_Chapter 12_  
**Hunger  
**

* * *

"He's ready to proceed at any time. What I don't understand is how this came to be." 

"The God was expelled four years ago. That stupid Claudia messed things up big-time."

"Do you know what happened? Alessa is still around in her third reincarnation is she not?"

"Hmph."

"You don't know?"

"I do know."

"Then what is it? How did the Mother of God—"

"Silence."

"…I apologize."

"His hands are not bloodstained just yet. The fetus is not growing. We need to nurture the darkness in his heart."

"How do you plan to accomplish that?"

"I will think of something."

"…Are you sure you do not want to discuss how this happened?"

"All in due time."

"…Alright."

"Now… go make the preparations. The Bringer of Paradise is coming."

"Yes, Mother Deborah."

Gai coughed at the dust on the floor, books and the shelf that upon which they resided weighing down on him. He lifted himself up with a newfound strength as he came to, feeling a sense of peace in his heart, a sense of enlightenment.

The back of his head ached, not from the impact of his skull against the bookcase, but of something else, something much more intricate and horrifying. He lifted the bookcase off of him, as well as the books themselves before sitting up. The room was dimly lit by light peering in from a blinded window. Walter was nowhere to be found, except for a brass key sitting where the man had last been standing. Gai crawled over to it and snatched the key up in his hands. A note lay beside the key.

_If answers are what you search,_

_Then you'd best head on to the church._

_Upon your arrival, you'll meet a flower_

_Of such strength, beauty and power._

_Bestow her blessing upon you shall she_

_In hopes you will deliver the God to be._

Gai took the note and folded it, slipping it into the pocket of his pants and stood. Walking to the door, he slid the key into its slot, turned it, and opened the door.

Outside was outside, though it didn't surprise Gai in the least. He had almost expected the ashen gray and foggy streets of Silent Hill instead of the dead hallway from which he had previously entered. He looked both ways of the street as he exited the door. He turned, heading westward from the door on the dark concrete road.

_Should I try to find a map? I feel like I know where this road leads… __I don't know how or why… But I feel like I'm familiar with the entire layout of this region… Why is everything so familiar? I've only been here once, and truthfully I've never been out on the streets…_

The fog continued on just as Gai did down the road, as if it were rushing ahead of him. Around him, he heard loud hisses and growls, picking up his pace without so much as a twitch in his face, void of expression as it was. His eyes were downcast, staring at the granular concrete road as he jogged.

_Everything I've known has been stripped of its identity… I'm not sure you're even Lee anymore… Whenever I think of you and see your face… Are you truly the same student I sought to help succeed? Are you just a ghost? Or are you a product of my own insanity?_

_Insanity… what does that word mean? It means to be without a solid sense of reality… Am I truly mad? What if it's the opposite? This town… how could it be insane? It is by way of the Church… The Balkan Church… I know I've been there before… Not me, but… me. Not me… but you._

The first sharp right turn had made its appearance and Gai took it with sharp vigor. He slowed his pace to catch his breath. His metabolism wasn't up to par, but his physical health didn't concern him.

_I've seen your story… I heard their lies and your truths. I've felt your pain… I feel it now. That sick room… You didn't enjoy it… …and neither did I. __Lee… all this evil… why does it surround you…? What could you have possibly to do with this?_

_…I was a perfect target._

_I should have known…_

Gai raced down the road, his stomach throbbing. Pulsating bodies became scarcer as he headed down the road, Toluca Lake to his right, blanketed by thin layers of mist and fog.

_They say this town used to be a holy place…_

_Then it became a tourist attraction…_

_Then a religious hotspot…_

_…And now…_

_A hellish mine vent._

Gai glanced briefly at the lake as he raced, the stuffy pain in his lungs and burning in his legs not fazing him.

_Paradise… It's just a word… A true utopia doesn't exist. Even Konoha has its fair share of crimes and the criminals that commit them. A world where pain, suffering, worry, fear and hatred don't exist… It sounds nice but…_

_…It just makes life a little less interesting._

The sky began to melt from a grayish blue to a dark, ominous violet, soon evaporating from royal hues into a dark, hateful black. Stars fled from the sky, crying out like dying children as they disappeared. Gai noticed this as he slowed down on the road down upon which he sped. He came to a stop at a gate, rusted and hanging open. The metal fence creaked and groaned, beckoning him to enter. The road before him was gone, seeming to have dropped down into the earth. Fog hid features that may lay hidden down about one hundred feet below as well as in front. Gai looked to the metal fence and read the sign above it:

LAKESIDE AMUSEMENT PARK.

_If I go any farther, I'm pretty sure I'll die… My chakra's completely depleted. Better not take any chances now that I'm so far ahead…__May as well go through the park._

He turned fully to the gate and stopped before it. On the ground in front of the gate lay a handgun, fully loaded, with a few scattered boxes of handgun bullets. The items lay in an old, dried puddle of blood.

Gai crouched down, examining the items. He took the handgun and weighed it somewhat in his hand. Slipping the muzzle into the pocket of his pants, he grabbed the handgun pullets and slipped them into other free pockets. He took a deep breath, sensing a terrible omen, and walked in through the gate. The metal wired gate screamed loudly with a sort of pain as he opened it and walked through it.

The amusement park held a thick, heavy silence over it. Gai found it difficult to even breathe the atmosphere was so overbearing. The small walkway path that led further into the amusement park grew dark with bloodstains, mud and rust. He walked further inside, grabbing the handgun as loud, flesh-ripping noises made their way to his perked ears.

He neared the source of the horrible noises, a large quadruped on its hind legs ripping at what looked like a fresh, yet completely mutilated carcass held in a thin, tall cage. It took no notice of Gai, even as it stopped its furious ripping and twisting to chew, swallow and breathe. Gai blocked light from his flashlight, only allowing enough light to point out blocked exits and guide him to a free path as he went around the feeding beast.

The park hissed and groaned as Gai worked his way through, bypassing rides, game stands and the like. He crept into a gift shop, switching on a light that illuminated the entirety of the store's front area. The light, along with Gai's smell, attracted a quadruped beast, much like the one he had bypassed when he first entered the park. It wandered aimlessly toward him, seeing him with a warped, eyeless face. It was shaped like a dog. A small spark of fear rose within Gai's chest. It wasn't because it was a monster.

_Alessa…_

Gai pointed the gun to the creature's forehead, glaring at it with tired eyes.

_Don't be afraid._

It lunged at him, opening wide, lizard-like jaws. He panicked, firing two rounds at the thing's chest as it pounced upon him brutally, claws in his shoulder and teeth at his throat.

_Fuck! Dad! HELP!_

"Ahhh!" Gai cried out in surprise as he fell backward, the brute putting all of its weight on his shoulders. It tore at his shirt, ripping it off before it could go to his skin firsthand. It stopped, its warped logic having backfired in its intention. It hissed and growled, slinking off of him, shoulders hunched and head low to the ground, teeth bare and skin rippled.

_It fears! Strike it now!_

Blood dribbled like water from a garden hose from the beast's wounded chest. Gai sat up, the markings on his belly pulsating about his skin like animated tattoos.

_The Seal of __Metatron__…!_

Gai stared at the cowering thing with almost sympathetic eyes. He pointed the gun at it, face void of any recognizable emotion, "You're just an image; a product of hateful delusion, yes? If I shoot you, will you feel it? Do you truly cry out in suffering should my very foot snuff out your flame?" He stood, staring at the creature, "You… do not frighten me any longer…"

He shot it about the head, listening and absorbing its screams.

"Show me just how human you really are!"

It lay on the floor, mangled and lurching with blood spilling from the bullet wounds in its face and chest. It still lived. Gai's eyes glowed precariously with brutal hatred.

He walked to the wriggling, moaning creature, "You cry out like a child that had broken its arms and legs. Yet you yourself would snap that child in two given the chance. You act as if you were human… As if you had feeling and emotion… As if you carried the same human features you ought not to carry… You slaughter an innocent and yet you cry out as if you were one…"

He stomped on the creature's limbs, snapping them into numerous pieces. It screamed and cried, letting out animalistic sobs and whines. It lay there trembling as he wandered away, his position slack and wavering as he moved. A display dagger caught Gai's curious sight and he reached for it, snatching the small hilt in his grasp. He walked back to the wounded, dying animal he had so hatefully brutalized.

He kneeled next to it gently, gesturing in a tender manner to it with the dagger behind his back. "Look at you. You've suffered more than you would have ever liked. Do you have a will to live or are you just that hard to kill? You do not want to die… but what about those that you kill? They wanted to live just as much as you do now. Yet you have no mercy on their poor, innocent souls…"

Gai raised the knife from behind his back.

"You!" Stab. "Make!" Stab. "Me!" Stab. "Sick!" Stab.

_Gai, stop!_

The creature lay motionless and bereft of feeling. Gai's senses returned to him, his eyes wide. His face, chest, arms and hands were spattered with the creature's blood. His heartbeat was rapid and his breathing was heavy. He stared at the mutilated corpse before him, tears welling up in his unblinking eyes. His stomach began to burn.

He hung over, dropping the knife and gun as his arms swung violently about his abdomen. He cried out, eyes shut tight and face pinched with pain. Beads of sweat streaked down the sides of his face, dropping to the bloody, brutalized flesh of the monster beneath him. His skin darkened with dark red splotches that pulsated. The atmosphere about him became heavier and louder in its silence. He heard the cries of nothingness and was overcome by a foreboding sense of isolation.

_Fight it!_

_You can't give in now!_

_You can do it!_

Gai let out an inhuman sound, an animalistic roar that distilled the silence around him and caused it to scatter like pieces of shattered glass. The markings on his skin receded and disappeared, as well as the pain they brought with them. He relaxed and grabbed his knife and gun, rising to his feet, eyes on the mangled corpse below. Never will he forget the magnitude of its painful, dying howls.

Carefully stepping over it, he slipped the knife carefully into a pocket, allowing the blade to rip through the bottom and slide downward, using the pocket as a backwards sheath. He slipped the gun into his belt, wondering why he hadn't done so before.

Walking to the front counter, he spied a few packs of handgun bullets. He looked around him before snatching them up and slipping them into his pockets. He wished he was in his normal ninja attire, seeming as though the extra pockets of his vest would prove most useful in his situation.

He looked back down at the knife in his pocket and the calloused hands that held it and used it to advance in his brutality. He would not wash the blood from his body. He would wear it as both a plea of forgiveness and as a sort of warning to others that may wish harm upon him.

He turned as the lights began to flicker in the ceiling and approached the door. Resting his hands upon the bars, he pushed, but met resistance. He pushed, shoved and rammed the doors, but to no avail. The doors' locks were broken.

"Damn it… What happened? I entered here so easily…"

Turning, the lights flickered and shut off, causing Gai to turn on his flashlight and heave a heavy sigh of nervous annoyance. He approached the back door. It was locked.

"Everything is locked, stuck or broken! I hate this damn place!" he shouted, kicking a display shelf next to the door. Souvenirs crashed to the floor with loud, painful precision, followed by a small, innocent 'clink-clink'. Looking and shining his flashlight down over the heap, he spied a glinting silver key on top of the pile. Upon the flattest end of the key was a dark bloody thumbprint. Gingerly, he took the key in his hand and unlocked the door, opened it and stepped through.

What used to be a storage room was a pit of nothingness with grated flooring supported by a black void beneath the mesh. Gai reluctantly stepped forward over the mesh, gun in hand reloaded and ready.

A large pink rabbit in navy blue overalls lay on its back before him after he walked a few steps, having emerged motionlessly from the darkness. Blood stained its mouth and dribbled continuously from thereon. It seemed to be a costume of sorts. Its nametag read "Robbie".

"Hello!"

Gai's eyes wandered to the rabbit costume. The voice coming from inside sounded like an old tape recording.

"Do you wish to leave?"

Gai didn't answer, only stared.

"The exit is at the Merry-Go-Round!"

Gai bit his lip.

"What seems to be the problem?"

Gai spoke, his voice cracked and quiet, "What happened to this place?"

Robbie hesitated, blood dribbling from his neck, eyes and ears. His voice grew low in pitch as he answered, "You'll find out soon enough…"

The rabbit was still and Gai didn't bother calling to it. He walked forward, stepping around the costume. He stopped a foot ahead of the heap, his eyes having caught something that his brain was slow to register. He looked back at the bleeding costume, dribbles and streams of scarlet dripping through the mesh and into the abyss.

He turned and kneeled next to the costume. In a fold of its overalls lay a small bottle full of red liquid.

"It's not blood… too lightly colored and thick to be blood," he mused, "May as well hold tight in case it poses any use."

He slipped the small bottle into the back pocket of his pants with a pack of handgun bullets and headed onward.

He wandered into the darkness for quite some time, not knowing exactly where he was. He could see nothing on all sides, even with the help of his flashlight. When the mesh flooring came to a sudden and abrupt end, he stopped, backing away slowly, questioning the physical stability of the grate flooring below him.

Gai shined his flashlight all before him but saw nothing but black, save for the flashlight's bright beam. Suddenly, with a loud booming sound, bright bloodstained lights of a massive carousel, spattered with bright reds, dim whites and small splotches of yellow beamed before him, causing him to flinch and shield his eyes from the light with his arm. The horses, outstretched and twisted into stiff, dynamic positions, looked as if they had been impaled, the long golden poles bleeding at the entrances of their backs and exits of their bellies.

All of their mouths were wide open, as if they were screaming.

Gai carefully stepped onto the carousel, eyeing the horses and their grayish green plastic skin. The mechanisms of the carousel activated with loud, violent sounds, causing the ride to jerk and shudder before slowly rotating, the festive music playing on a slow, low pitch before speeding up to its normal sound. The horses rose and fall on the massive golden poles, blood smearing over the pole as they moved. Low, painful groans crept from the horses' mouths.

Taking his knife from his pocket, Gai went to every horse and slashed their throats, their spilling blood decorating the metal, rusted flooring. The horses themselves stopped moving and their moans quieted, but the carousel continued to rotate.

The notorious dark red splotches appeared on Gai's skin and began to tremble, also appearing in a dark brown shade on the carousel, moving somewhat in unison. Gai wrapped his arms around his abdomen, flinching with pain. Something was there, about his height and body build.

A pale, burnt and bleeding image of himself crept from the shadows of the rotating merry-go-round, eyes glassy and half-lidded. He wore a jumpsuit that mimicked his own, as well as the chunin vest of Konoha, legwarmers, hitai-ate and ninja sandals. They were dark, grimy, ripped and bloodied.

Gai stared in horror as his mirror image approached him with steady balance and an unearthly grace. In its hand, it held a nunchaku.

Gai rose, the dark red patches disappearing from his skin.

The darker facsimile of himself raised the nunchaku towards him, as if challenging him to a fight.

"But I…" Gai gasped.

Images of his dead self engulfed in angry flames flashed before his mind's disbelieving eye. The rotting hand that he had held in his own had dropped lifelessly against the smooth floor before following the rest of the incinerating body into the fire.

_…__I killed you…  
_

* * *

_**End of Chapter 12**_


	14. Prayer

_Chapter 13_

**Prayer  
**

* * *

_Praise the God that hath slain angels._

The living corpse that presented itself to Gai lunged, readying to swing its arm outward and strike the other in the chest with its rusted metal nunchaku. Yelping in surprise, Gai fell backwards, knife in hand with sharp side up to defend himself from the familiar weapon. Scrambling, Gai got to his feet, knife blade pointed at his death-engrossed mirror image.

Silver filmed eyes wandered down to the Seal of Metatron across Gai's belly. It stopped and simply stared.

_Praise my God that hath betrayed me._

Gai rushed forward, stabbing the creature through the neck, driving out a guttural scream, a scream he couldn't recognize to be human. He stepped back, leaving the knife in the other's neck. The horses around them whinnied just as the rotting creature before him howled in a demon's voice. It fell to the floor, knife sinking into the blood-encrusted flesh as the body itself sunk into the floor as it bled, sucking in its body like an evil vacuum.

It disappeared and the vacuum closed, causing the horses to grunt, gas pouring from their nostrils, mouths and ears. The gas was white at first, then gray, a deep, thick, choking grey. Gai covered his face and eyes, coughing as the clouds engulfed him.

_God will pass judgment with fire._

The black fog began to clear, and loud, sulking footsteps caught Gai's attention, causing him to turn around only to meet the silver blade of the knife slicing open his cheek. He cried out, faltering backward and bumping against one of the horses. It snarled and grunted, eyes glowing a bright crimson. The droplets of blood that flew from the laceration on Gai's face plopped innocently against the flooring of the carousel. After a split second of idling, the droplets came to a violent boil, blood evaporating into the air.

Gai's eyes were locked on the suffering image of himself. The wound in its neck was open, but no blood spilled.

_All will burn—innocent or sinful._

Gai quickly eyed the figure before him; not seeing any sign of the rust-engrossed nunchaku. He silently cursed as the creature made its move, a low hiss escaping the stab wound in its neck as it lunged to stab. Gai slid to his left, the knife's blade piercing the throat of the now rearing plastic horse, blood spewing and squirting from the injury. It screamed a horrible sound, causing Gai's stomach to churn. The thing yanked the knife from the horse's throat, limping towards the man as he backed away.

Gai quickly grabbed his gun, pointing it at its forehead, "Stay back!" It didn't hesitate, only stared with a dead indifference, a steel resolve glinting in its unseeing eyes. Gai's eyes widened as he continually backed away, bumping into the horses as he did, "Get away from me!"

_Reach the realm in which Angels are expelled from their Heaven._

It swung its arm, the knife blade knocking the gun from Gai's hand. The firearm slid over the metal surface of the carousel's flooring, falling into a crevice in which gears and gizmos that operated the carnival ride resided. Gai's hopes died as the gun disappeared underneath the grating, "Oh my god…" The facsimile lunged once more, aiming to the other's throat. Gai, disoriented in the moment, twisted, his arm and shoulder moving up to meet the cold, bloody steel, protecting him from certain death.

Gai fell to the floor and immediately scrambled, turning away from the monster and fleeing to the other end of the merry-go-round. He looked below the spinning discus, seeing only perpetual darkness. There was no escape.

_Accept the God that will paint Her walls with the blood of man._

Gai inched away from the edge, feeling dizzy and nauseous. The blood over his body didn't help and the smell of the horses around him only made it worse. With nothing but his bare fists, he struggled to come up with a plan simply to even survive this reckless onslaught. The footsteps on the other side of the carousel rang in his ear. It was coming for him.

He thrust himself at a horse, looking at the gaping wound in its neck. He will regret this sooner or later, but it had to be done.

_Halt the turning wheel with the grace and dignity of the Executioner._

The scarlet, milky flesh of the plastic-skinned horse was warm with splotches of cold over Gai's trembling hand. The horse's screams lowered in pitch, changing from frantic whinnies to monstrous howls, like wind against a flying freight train. Gai found himself sliding the entirety of his arm into the horse's flesh, feeling around pulsing and rotting unmentionables for objects that could be used as weapons—anything would do. He would tear out a rib or scapula if he had to if nothing else made present was any more useful.

Footsteps of the soul became louder, the body full frontal and uninterrupted. It stared at the back of Gai's head, pausing briefly before beginning its exhausting journey to the man's position. Gai rushed, going so far as to rip and tear and dig through flesh and bone. "Come on, come on… There has to be something…" he hissed.

_Our time has come… Let us end it not in the Grace of that God…_

The being discarded its knife, reaching into its vest for the rusty nunchaku. One step at a time it took as it neared a frantically dissecting Gai. It held its weapon at the ready as it stalked closer, limping in its left leg.

Gai paid close attention to the footsteps and dug harder, ripped more violently, blood pouring out underneath his arm from the horse's neck wound. "Fucking horse, don't you have anything!?" He cried aloud in panic as the footsteps became closer and closer and closer. His fingers graced what felt like a hilt; a hilt of a sword. "Success!" he almost screamed. His face was masked by a lunatic's smile, only to 

fade a split second later. Cold metal ground around his neck, tightening as individual links stabbed and pinched at skin as they collected together, pressure cutting off his air and closing his windpipe.

Gai's throat emit loud panicking sounds and guttural gasps for air and oxygen, his fingers slipping from the tip of the hilt that which they had only just came into contact. Gai's freehand went up to the links of nunchaku around his neck, choking him, his fingers grappling at the cold, crusty links. The being behind him held it tightly against his throat, its strength as absolute as its resolve.

_Let us fly in rapture—to a Paradise that we deny and refuse._

_A Paradise that will cleanse the earth in their blood!_

"NO!"

Gai unleashed a choking scream as his fingers secured a grip on the hilt in the horse's body. In one swift motion, he ripped the weapon from the horse's flesh—a small katana, its steel blood-soaked—and swung his arm backward in a motion that resembled that of a catapult, the blade piercing the eye of the monster behind him. It reared back, the nunchaku becoming loose about Gai's neck and shoulders, the hilt of the knife slipping from Gai's grip as it was firmly lodged in the beast's skull.

It stumbled back, howling in pain, gnarled hands going up to grab and paw at—as well as comfort and nurture—the wound in its face. Gai too stumbled and fell to his bottom as he coughed wretchedly before calming, the loud clunk of the nunchaku falling from his collarbones catching his attention even more so than the choking sobs screaming from the thing behind him.

His hand went to his neck to cradle and nurture at the reddish marks left from pinching links, his head lowering and eyes closing. His hair flowed before his face, revealing his ears, reddened with blood and dirt. He opened his eyes, unaware of the calming of the being's cries behind him. His eyes were immediately attracted to the frantically discarded nunchaku to his left, near the epicenter of the carousel.

_Offer Her the serpent…_

A seething panic rose in Gai's chance and he scrambled towards the nunchaku, snatching it up in his hand before stumbling to his feet and facing the recovering facsimile of himself, trembling white hands easing the knife's blade from its face. He held himself in stance, his eyes narrow and face laden with deadly seriousness.

_And now, offer Her the reed…_

It held the knife in a tight, unrelenting grip, face spurting blood from the gaping stab wound. It watched him… and waited.

_Offer solace to the God that will kill nations!_

Gai breathed deeply, his wrist twisting in such a motion that caused his new weapon to twirl on its chain. "You contradict yourself when you speak of God. This deity by itself has caused you pain and yet you are adamant over prayer?" Gai growled.

_God's birth is imminent…_

"I will stop it."

_You… can do nothing._

Gai rushed forward, yelling out as he made a swift, skillful swing on his nunchaku, nailing the ghostly figure across the face, twisting its neck, which in turn made a loud, sickening crack. It stumbled back but regained composure, body twitching as it turned its head back about its shoulders.

Watching it recover, a seething rage built up in Gai's chest and he shouted, "What is it going to take to KILL YOU!"

The thing's head hung low with weakness, its body twitching as if it were burning. The lights of the carousel went dark and Gai's eyes instantly widened, holding his nunchaku at the ready. "What are you doing now?"

The area around Gai became silent, saved for the low humming and rustling of the spinning carousel upon which he so idly stood. The humming of the spinning carousel grew louder as silence fell over the area in continuous waves. "What's going on!?" Gai shouted, tensing as he spun around, eyes straining as they tried to focus in the perpetual darkness. The drowning silence slowly emitted the erratic weeping of an infant. Gai stopped and listened, a streak of horror crossing his pale face.

A dim light above him flickered on, breathing a steady, constant hum of flowing electricity. The light emitted a peach glow, illuminating a blood-red ceiling painted over with smooth images of angels with crimson wings and maroon gowns. One female in the center of the painting held an infant; the angels around them glorifying and praising it.

Before Gai was an alter, oak and smoothly polished with a beeming red symbol branded upon its front. It was a symbol he had seen before, many many times before. He knew what it was and what it meant. He cringed.

Around him were rows of seating booths. They faced each other, dark burgundy wood burnished to a glorious shine.

A woman, ghostly and old in her appearance, walked down the red carpet, walking right through him. She walked quickly and moved with rapid precision, almost as if it were a tape in fastforward that he was watching. She stood behind the alter, holding out her arms as various peole filed in around him and sat down on the booths.

"Why are you showing me all of this?" Gai breathed.

_This all started with the recognition of human weakness._

The area grew dark again, a loud crackling filing the air. Feathering flames nipped at the air, surrounding him with dominance. The smell of smoke and burning flesh was overwhelming, causing Gai to gag and cough as it filled his nostrils, forcing his hands to shoot up to his neck and face.

"The hell…" he gagged between wheezes.

_They needed a place to where they could flock when all seemed lost…_

Gai's knees bent with weakness, the heat scorching his skin.

_They wanted a God… a real God._

The flames snuffed themselves away with a quick, loud roar. Wiping sweat from his face, Gai looked around, surrounded by a dark, ominous abyss once more.

The humming of the spinning carousel sounded once more and the creature reappeared before him, knees bent and feet flat, arms hanging down limply and back slanted forward.

_Do you understand now?_

It lunged at him, hissing as it tackled Gai down to the hard grated metal platform. Winded, Gai went into a daze, confused and numb. The nunchaku flew and slid from his hand, rolling down the surface and over the edge into the darkness below them.

It pinned him down, staring at him with hurt, hateful eyes.

_You feel what I feel and you know what I have felt. But you do not understand it enough to stop it on your own. That's why I'm going to kill you. It will be a quick and painless death. Prepare yourself for the end._

Reaching back, it grabbed the discarded knife that had so painfully been embedded in its face. He rose it, the bloody steel glinting in the dim carnival lights.

Gai's vision cleared and sense returned to him, eyes widening as he caught glimpse of the blade as it swung down from above him and pierced his sternum. His startled cry was silenced by a choke and the twist of the blade, cracking his ribs and ripping his lungs. His head fell back, eyes wide and glassy, lips agape and leaking scarlet.

It stood slowly, looking over Gai's still, lifeless body.

_There is no fate worse than the tragic curse of infinite longevity. Eternity is a painful, tiring existence…_

It turned and stepped away, lifting its head to the sky and closing its eyes.

* * *

**End of Chapter 13**


End file.
